Frostbite
by R. J. Niner
Summary: The death of a charming teen leaves a small, isolated village in shock. At the same time, an old case resurfaces when a man with strange powers tumbles out of the cursed woods, remembering nothing but his name and the dead boy. With his help, IA, a detective from the city, has to solve the mystery, but the frosty village is hiding more secrets than she thought.
1. Ten Years

**A/N: So, it's been a year since I ended my first story-length Vocaloid fanfic, and I was missing the mystery genre, so here's my second attempt at a mystery story. Again, I have yet to plan much, so let's hope this turns out to be alright, shall we? Supposing this first chapter works. T^T **

**(Side note: I refuse to include any romance. I refuse to include any romance. I refuse—okay, fine, a little maybe, somewhere, someplace, BUT I REFUSE TO MAKE ROMANCE A MAIN—*smack* Shut up, me.)**

**I hope you'll enjoy the story! It just happened to be a snow day today for me, so maybe that says something, since this story is set in the dead of winter. XD**

* * *

Ten years was a long time to be lost.

It wasn't like he had a calendar tucked in his pocket or a watch to count the seconds that accumulated into minutes, into hours and days, growing and growing like the snow that accumulated around him, but somehow, he knew. Ten years had been lost in this cursed forest. Ten years of constant wandering, an impossible mission to find an exit out, to find a way back home.

How it was possible to be lost for ten years, logic and science had no answer. He hadn't eaten once, hadn't stopped moving, hadn't seen anything but a dusty white cover over his head and tall trees that trapped him under their branches. His skin had slowly turned a bluish-white hue that he was starting to consider as normal. He was numb to the cold, undisturbed by the harsh winds that snuck through the trees and leapt out at him. Winter was the only season that existed in this boundless forest, a field of crisp, white snow burying all signs of life save for the lanky trees that rose out of the white blanket and towered over him.

He knew he never should've gone into the forest. It didn't matter if he hadn't believed in the legend before; he most certainly believed in it now. The cursed forest that trapped all who ventured, kept them spinning around and around looking for an exit that didn't exist, most definitely was an evil case of magic, whether that made any sense or not. The woods looked the same in every direction, the trees always planted close together, barren and sickly. He had to squeeze between them just to get past, onwards towards nowhere in particular, his figure thin and frail as his skin clutched bone, all lifelike flesh long since vanished.

Even then, he'd never given up the hope that someday he might find a way back home. He might've laughed at the legend for its obvious fictional aspects before, but he'd never forgotten the final advice left in that worn storybook in the library, the final page frayed and its inked words fading: Never give up hope.

Hope would get him out alive. He had to believe it would, had to believe that his home wasn't just an impossible goal but an attainable reality. He would see it again and return to his friends and family. It didn't matter that someone had tricked him into going into the woods; he could discover who the culprit was after he got back and finally confessed to the person he loved.

That was right. It was mostly his fault that he'd gotten into this predicament. If he had been able to confess his feelings even though he knew she loved another, then he would have been able to put aside his feelings and move on without being so concerned about her all the time. Then he might not have ventured into the forest in search of his love.

At that thought, his fingers unconsciously burrowed into his coat pocket, curling around the old, crumbling note. He knew the words by heart, the only piece of writing he had to read throughout these ten years.

"I have something to tell you. Can you meet me by the woods?"

Even if it'd been signed by the person he loved, he ought to have realized the handwriting was nothing like hers. Even more, she never spoke so politely to him. Whoever had given the note had probably known that he would fall for the trick, too blinded by love and trusting of written words.

He randomly made a left turn. Like always, the woods were trying to confuse him, but he wasn't going to give up. If the woods didn't want him to go home, then he'd force it to accommodate to his random turns. There could only be so many ways the forest appeared, be it the distance between trees or the pattern of speckled snow on the bark or the thickness of snow in a certain area. One day, he hoped, the woods would give up and let him reach the edge of the forest, back outside to reality.

Just as he took another step forward, a small tinkling noise entered his ears. He stopped, surprised, glancing around for the source of the noise. Ten years and this had to be the first thing he'd heard besides his own breathing and the sound of crunching snow under his feet.

The sound grew louder as he spotted some orbs of lights floating towards him. Somehow he wasn't too shocked by their appearance. Wandering around for ten years in a frozen forest was already the strangest thing he could imagine, and what forest wasn't complete with some strange lights floating around?

"It's the end," a singsong voice echoed, bouncing around in his head. "You've won. You've won."

Won? What had he won?

It hit him. He'd beaten the forest in its stupid maze game. At the end of ten, long years, it was finally giving up and letting him go home.

"Yes," came the voices again. "We can't keep you here anymore. You have overcome the toughest challenges in this forest. You are truly worth all the powers we've bestowed upon you to keep you alive."

"Why?" a voice croaked, a throaty, raspy voice that might have been his own. He couldn't quite recall the sound of his voice anymore, having not used it once in years. "Why did you keep me alive?"

"We are creatures who prey on the hope of humans. Those with hope, we keep alive until there is no hope left to devour, but you have proved tougher than our wildest expectations," the tinkling voices rang out in his head, soft as a whisper. "We are not so heartless to let you wander for an eternity, so we will offer you a choice."

Almost immediately, the trees before him parted, shrinking away as a glowing light erupted to life in the distance, softly blinking as if asking him to go towards it. His breath must have caught in his dry throat, for suddenly he was finding it hard to breathe in the cool air that only caused his excitement to expand in his lungs.

"Is … is that the way home?"

"Yes," was the reply, a welcome response in his ears. "You can leave the forest now."

Before he could take a staggering step forward, the voices held him back, the spots of light dancing around him as they chattered excitedly, "Or you can stay here."

"Stay?"

"Yes, stay here, where you'll live forever. Stay here where the world is silent, where the evils of nature can't harm you. You can be our king, blessed with all of our wonderful powers."

"Powers?" went his cracked voice, or what he supposed was his voice, as he took his first step forwards toward the light at the end of the path, the road home.

"Powers beyond your wildest dreams," the voices sung, tinkling as the lights floated about like the snow that had once again begun to fall. "You've proven to be more than worthy to be our king. You have such hopefulness inside, a perfect fit for this forest of despair. We'll give you all the things you want in this world, so stay with us. We'll make sure you don't have to experience the horrors of the real world waiting for you."

He simply shook his head, still heading for the light that lay just ahead, glowing brighter and brighter as he approached it.

"I want to go home," that foreign voice echoed in the hollow woods, stiff and cold. He could almost see the sound waves emerge from his mouth, wavering before they froze and collapsed onto the ground, struggling to be stay alive and be heard. "I don't need any strange powers."

"But it's dangerous where you come from," came the voices, now dwindling into hushed, urgent whispers that surrounded him a thick mist. He shrugged them off and moved on, his journey continuing. The light was still there, beckoning him forward. Its existence meant there was still hope, hope to run away from this cursed forest's clutches, hope to return to the place he'd yearned to see for ten years. "The place you left behind is bound to give in to tragedy. We're offering you a choice to escape with your sanity."

"Sanity?" This time, the voice came out rasped, scraping his dry throat like a dagger, sharp and cutting. "I've given up ten years in this forest, and you claim that staying here will retain my sanity?"

There was a hesitant silence as the fog temporarily parted, as if these spirits, or whatever they were, had actually felt a pang of guilt. He pushed forward, shaking off the first tinges of annoyance in years. He hadn't meant to get angry. He simply wanted to go home and see the people he cared for again. He had had enough of this mindless wandering that was more than enough to drive anyone insane.

The light at the end of the path was getting closer now. He could feel its blinding glow brushing against his cheeks, pulling him out of the depths of the frozen woods.

The bundles of lights were now leaping around his head almost frantically now. "Last chance," they were chanting in a frenzy, loud and piercing in his ears like crystals of ice, struggling to take him back and only bouncing off his body instead, a broken record that could no longer transmit its beautiful voice. "Last chance to save yourself. We want you to be happy, hopeful human, so please, stay here. Stay with us."

He just shook his head once more, letting his dark blue locks fall over his tired eyes. "Thank you for your offer, but I'm going home," he responded, taking the final step into the light. Oxygen filled him as if for the first time in years, the light enveloping him, spreading a warmth he'd forgotten throughout his body. He pushed forward, slow and steady, loath to leave the arms of such hospitality, but he had people he wanted to see, a life he wanted to live, so he continued onwards, seeking for a familiar sign.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a flitting figure, a tiny dot of shadowy darkness that flickered and sparkled around his head. "We gave you a chance," the voices chattered again, now fuzzy and out of focus, like voices sounded when speaking into a fan. "Your powers are yours to keep, but be warned. You'll find yourself regretting wanting to go back."

He took one more step forward and suddenly, for the first time in ten years, he was outside on an earth that was no longer littered by trees. Another step and the cursed woods were behind him. His heartbeat pounding in his ears, his feet stepped forward gingerly as if treading on air.

Was this real?

The sunlight was reaching out and caressing his cheeks, the firm earth underneath him no longer blanketed by snow, clear blue skies above his head and twisted dirt paths underneath his feet that trailed through stalks of tall, dry grass, leading to the familiar signpost that was still there stooped over like an old man waiting for his return. This must have been what euphoria felt like, this uplifting feeling that made him feel so light-headed and emotional, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. His spirits rose as he stumbled over towards that guiding figure, that post of wood that would direct him back home, back into the arms of the people he'd grown up with, to his family and friends. He was almost there, a trembling arm outstretched, pulling his body forward to that pillar of reality. If he could just touch it, feel the familiar texture of weathered wood underneath his fingertips…

And just like that, as his bony finger brushed against the rough, splintered sign that bore the name of his village, his ten years of struggle evaporated like frost on his skin, melting with the sharp light that cut across his vision.

Suddenly, he stumbled backwards as a sharp pain pierced his index finger, a splinter sticking out from his pallid skin. There was a signpost in front of him, a pointed sign nailed to a wooden post that directed him towards a village called Shimori.

The light was blinding as he lifted his head to spot a few trails of smoke drifting off into the dazzling blue skies above. He took a second to stand there and feel the wind caress his cheeks, his hair rippling and brushing against his skin, soft and yet chilly to the touch.

It was strange business indeed, he thought to himself as he studied his surroundings, blinking rapidly to let his weak eyes adjust to the light. For some reason, the intersection he was at felt strangely familiar. The light shining above him was so gentle, so welcoming, and yet for some reason, as he stood there with his eyes close, it felt chilling, a shivering feeling trickling down his spine, a lingering sense that something had gone terribly wrong as he tried to sort through the remaining memories in his mind. The more he tried to clear his mind though, the more he seemed to be forgetting until all that was left was an image of a young boy. Blond with a pair of brilliantly blue eyes. A boy named Len, seemingly tied together with the words 'friend', 'fun', and 'love'.

His brows furrowed, wondering what the significance of this boy he seemed to have taken a liking to had. Finding no answer, he settled for listening to the wind whistle a mellow tune that kicked at the dirt out of frustration.

Turning his head back up to the misty gray skies above him, the man sighed. Somehow, he, Kaito Shion, had ended up in this strange place before being abandoned into an oblivion that left him hopelessly lost, without a clue as to who he was or what he had been doing in such an abandoned place in the first place. The only source he could follow was to find the boy named Len, but for some reason, there was a sinking feeling in his heart, as if he already knew there was something sinister waiting for him, should he follow his clue.

After all, all that time, he could've sworn he'd heard the woods behind him cackling in the wind as if to say, "Good luck, human. You're on your own now."


	2. Shattered Hopes

The library was the newest addition to the village, a small brick building of one room, simply furnished with a large carpet and a couple of chairs scattered about the room. The bookshelves lining the four walls were relatively empty, filled with only a few classics that'd been brought to the village of Shimori by the strangers who'd passed through on occasion. There was one book that stood out from the rest, an old, worn book of stiff papers bound together by a blue string. It was a book that had been written in the village itself, a story that had been passed down through the generations, a legend about the cursed woods recently named the Lost Woods that sat on the outskirts of the village.

Today, the book was once again taken off the shelves to be read to the children of Shimori, a lesson to them about the dangers of the woods. A small group of chattering kids was led into the building by a young man dressed in a simple linen shirt under a thick coat and black cargo pants. Kiyoteru Hiyama had been the children's substitute teacher for the past year, the real teacher having been away on a trip to visit relatives in a different village. He might've only been a teen who'd just turned eighteen a month ago, but even early in his education, Kiyoteru had proven himself to be one of the smartest people living in the village. Shimori was a small village, so it wasn't long before the village was filled with the news that Kiyoteru was set to go out and study at a university far away in one of the big cities, perhaps the first person ever to leave the village and set out for an educated life.

Kiyoteru had planned to leave a few days ago just to get to the city and settle in before he experienced a real school life, but the children of the village had begged and pleaded for him to stay a few more days, and so he gave in. After all, who knew when would be the next time he came back to his only home?

There was another reason why Kiyoteru had chosen to stay behind for a few more days, but he shoved it to the back of his mind as he took the storybook off the shelf with a rosy red hand frozen from the cold. He gave the cover a good pat as he blew the dust off the ancient book before taking his place at the center of the room in front of the chattering six-year-olds.

"Come on, settle down now," Kiyoteru said, the wooden chair creaking underneath him as he sat down. He brushed his chestnut brown hair out of his eyes and fixed his glasses, squinting as he flipped the book open to the first page. Not that there was any need for him to actually read the text off the pages. He'd memorized the entire book word for word a while ago, having heard it told so many times as a child.

When the kids finally settled down, Kiyoteru began the tale as he usually did by asking, "So I'm sure all of you know about the woods outside the village, right?"

"The one we aren't allowed to go into?" Miku chirped up, a tiny girl in size but not personality, her turquoise hair tied into two tiny pigtails.

"Yes, that one. And now I'm going to tell you a story that explains why we never go into the woods." Kiyoteru took a deep breath, his eyes trailing over the words on the page before continuing, "There's a legend that we've been telling for a long time about the woods that we just named the Lost Woods. People say there are spirits living in the forest, beings that hide from our sight, waiting for us to go into the cursed woods."

"Ooh!" Rin, a girl with a giant white ribbon tied in her short blonde hair, said, her blue eyes sparkling excitedly. "You mean fairies and unicorns live in the forest?"

Kiyoteru cracked a small smile. That would've been nice actually, if there were such benevolent creatures living in the forest to help _him_ home. Unfortunately, the book suggested otherwise, so Kiyoteru buried that hopeful feeling deep down inside his heart and simply continued with the story.

"Well, we don't know what's living in the forest, but unfortunately, I don't think the creatures living in the Lost Woods are nice like the fairies and unicorns you see in fairy tales," Kiyoteru said, shifting in his seat. "The thing is, anyone who goes into the forest is never seen again. They disappear and no one can ever find them."

"What? How does that happen?" Piko asked, a frown on his face as he tugged at his silvery gray bangs.

Kiyoteru shrugged. "No one knows," he answered honestly. "They just get lost and disappear, and anyone who goes into the woods to search for them gets lost too."

"Then how do you know there's creatures living in the forest? Those people could've just got lost and died from hunger or something," Gumi argued, her frown deeper than Piko's as the two of them bored into Kiyoteru with their curiosity-filled eyes. Kiyoteru cringed a little inside. He should've gotten used to the two of them by now, but their curiosity wanted to dissect every little mystery and understand exactly what it was made of and how it happened to be, and sometimes, Kiyoteru just didn't have an answer.

"Just calm down, okay?" Kiyoteru sighed, massaging his forehead as he cleared his foggy glasses. "I was going to get to that part, but I'm just setting up the scene."

"Setting up the scene?" some of the kids collectively echoed, confused.

"He means the setting, like what happened before and what the story's going to be about and where it's happening," Piko explained, looking a little proud that he knew the term.

Kiyoteru smiled a little to himself before continuing, "Moving on. This story here explains everything we know about the forest, after for the first time ever, a man managed to escape from the woods.

"The man had appeared in the village suddenly after disappearing for a few years. The villagers were shocked to see him. He looked exactly as he had before he'd disappeared into the forest, and he spoke of mysterious creatures that lived there. Strange lights he called them, voices that rang in his head, leading him further into the forest and keeping him from finding the exit."

"Then how did he get out?" Miku asked, eyes wide as she listened closely to the story.

"Yeah," Piko and Gumi agreed simultaneously. "How'd he get out if there were spirits keeping him from going out?"

"Wait for me to finish," Kiyoteru hastily shushed them, continuing with the story. "You see, everyone was just as confused as you were. They wanted to know how the man had managed to get out of the forest, and to that, he only had one answer."

The group of six-year-olds sat in silence, waiting for Kiyoteru to continue and answer the mystery.

Kiyoteru laughed a little to himself, amused that he'd managed to get their full attention this time. He pretended to be deep in thought before leaning forward and saying in a hushed whisper, "If you ever get lost in the woods, you must never lose hope. Hope is what will get you out of the woods, so never lose it."

The thought hung over the group as it swirled about and sunk deep into their minds. Kiyoteru waited, letting the silence continue, letting the idea of never giving up, never losing hope engrave itself in their minds. Whether the story had any ounce of truth to it or not, Kiyoteru hoped at least these kids could realize that having hope could save them from the worst of things.

A cutting voice pierced through the silence, shattering the concentration of the thought and sending it circling around again, lost in the moment. "Why are you telling us about this, Kiyo-sensei?"

Kiyoteru jerked a little in his seat, turning to look at the blond boy who'd spoken, a boy named Len. The tips of his hair brushed the top of his shoulder as he turned to return Kiyoteru's stare. Kiyoteru was aware of those sharp cerulean eyes boring into him, giving the boy a sharp, almost edgy look that contrasted his twin sister's docile look as Kiyoteru tried to find an answer.

"Well, you know I'm leaving soon, so I thought I should tell you this story before I left," Kiyoteru managed to spit out, stumbling over his words when another voice echoed out in the room.

"Is it because someone recently went missing in the forest?"

The hush in the library was immediate as Kiyoteru glanced over at Oliver, another boy with blond hair, his quavering voice betraying his fear of speaking up. Kiyoteru felt a lump rise to his throat, something he couldn't swallow back down again. Very slowly, he admitted, "Yes."

The silence continued as the children tried to tie the story to the recent disappearance of one of the villagers. Kiyoteru simply sat in his seat stoically, unable to bring himself to escape the heavy weight on his mind. That was right. That was the real reason he'd told them the story, the reason he'd stayed behind for a few more days. Who would've been able to leave knowing their best friend was quite possibly lost forever in a cursed woods?

"Wait," Len's voice cut through the silence again, his sharp voice cracking a little as he spoke. His eyes for once betrayed a hint of weakness that had previously been rare on Len's face, a sense of fear and disbelief. "Are you saying the story's real? You're saying no one ever comes back from the forest?"

Kiyoteru hated to break the truth to the kid, but he responded slowly, "Yes. With the exception of that man, no one has ever come back from the forest."

"B-but, but," Len whimpered, his bottom lip trembling, "you—no, that can't be right! Kaito-nii can't just disappear like that!"

Kiyoteru barely caught a glimpse of Len's tearful look, his lips trembling, his eyes wide with horror and pooling with tears, before Len dashed out of the library, rubbing his eyes and sniffling to himself.

What happened next, Kiyoteru didn't remember that well. After all, it'd been ten years since his best friend disappeared into the Lost Woods. That betrayed and horrified look on Len's face was one of the only things that'd stuck with Kiyoteru throughout the years. He went off to university and came home to find the children he'd once taught all grown up, mostly with little change to their personalities. Piko and Gumi were still as inquisitive as ever, Oliver was still as shy, Miku still as outgoing, and Rin still as nice. The only surprise had been Len, his teenage self having abandoned the sharp coldness that Kiyoteru had sensed in his personality as a child altogether. He'd turned into the rising star of the village, a lovable teen with dashing looks and a sweet personality, a complete contrast to his younger self.

No matter how Kiyoteru tried to accept Len's positive change, Kiyoteru couldn't shake the image of Len's tearful look ten years ago when the child realized he might never see his best friend and model, Kaito Shion, ever again. Ten years ago, the two of them were strangely the best of friends despite their age difference, the silent and stubborn Len with the cheerful and quirky Kaito. Perhaps it was their unique strangeness that had bonded the two of them together, a bond that, once severed, would never have resulted in a complete 180 in Len's personality. He'd expected Len to get colder, perhaps more withdrawn, at the loss of his only friend, which might've sounded mean on Kiyoteru's part, since no one should ever wish for someone to become an outcast in society, even if society only consisted of a few families living in Shimori.

Of course, Len's unnatural personality development was the last thing on Kiyoteru's mind today as he stood there in the crowd of people, watching in a silence muffled by sniffling. Watching as the procession continued towards them up at the top of the hill. Watching the sweet, little Rin crying in her mother's arms, her father clutching his family tight. Watching as the pitch black casket rode along on the men's shoulders.

A casket containing a dead body that'd been brutally murdered, sliced open and strangled, a body that'd taken Gakupo, the village doctor, a painfully long time to restore to a relatively peaceful looking state. A dead body that belonged to the boy named Len Kagamine.

Even as he watched the casket get lowered into the ground, as the earth slowly piled over it shovelful by shovelful, Kiyoteru couldn't help but wonder if Len had had that same despairing look Kiyoteru had seen ten years ago on his face when he realized he was about to killed by someone he'd most likely known for his entire life.

* * *

**A/N: So… I'm off to a slow start again, but Kaito shall reappear soon enough, I think. It took me a while to find a good way to start off the story, but this kinda works, doesn't it? (I may have also changed to the first chapter from my original plan, so I'd suggest reading it again so the facts of the story are consistent)**

**It also took me a while to decide who to kill off… And as much as I adore Len, he's become the victim. Again. (though this time he's not coming back as a ghost, for any of you who might possibly get the reference XP). **

**Anyways, expect to be introduced to the all important detective next! XD **

**Thanks for reading! **


	3. Buried Six Feet Under

The funeral proceeded rather smoothly. The hastily summoned priest had been busy reading sermons to the earth covering Len's casket, praying that his soul would rest in peace. No one spoke, but a single thought was obviously on their minds.

There was no way Len would ever be at rest, not after he'd been so brutally killed, not while his murderer was still on the loose.

After the priest was finally done with his formalities, the crowd broke up, separating adults from the children. The adults were hovering over the Kagamine parents, comforting the crying mother and offering their condolences to the father who was doing his best to remain composed. The children of Shimori had no interest in what the adults were doing. The younger ones, innocent and ignorant of what funerals were for, were running off down the hill, back to the village by themselves. The more mature teens were the ones who remained behind, all four of them friends of the dead Len Kagamine. They crowded around Rin, Len's twin sister, younger by exactly five minutes. The girls were the ones comforting her, Miku, an elegant looking girl with long turquoise pigtails, and Gumi, a lanky tomboy sporting green hair cut off above her shoulders.

"It's okay, Rin," Miku coaxed, struggling not to break into tears herself as she comforted the blonde. "You'll be okay."

"How can I be okay?" Rin cried, clinging onto the preppy girl as more tears streamed down her face. "How am I supposed to live without Len? I've never been apart from him!"

"Trust me, none of us are okay," Gumi said, resting a hand on Rin's head. "I know you must have it the hardest, but remember that none of us know how we can live without Len either."

Rin sniffled, glancing around at her friends. Oliver gave her a small smile, meek but reassuring nonetheless, even if he didn't say anything. No one really expected Oliver to say much anyways. He was the typical shy kid, quiet even with his friends. No one ever knew what Oliver was thinking, but one thing Rin could be sure of was that Len's death definitely had affected Oliver. After all, Len had been one of the only people Oliver had ever been seen opening up to, a sign that Len must have been one of Oliver's better friends. If even Oliver could be strong after such a horrible event, Rin was sure even she could find some hope too.

Piko came forward and gave Rin a tight squeeze. "Don't worry, Rin," he said with a smile radiating so much warmth that made Rin almost felt better already. "We're a team, remember? We're here to support you. Besides, think about what Len would want. He wouldn't want us to mope around his death. I bet he'd rather us put more effort into finding the person who did this to him, don't you think?"

Rin couldn't help but return the smile as she wiped at the tears. "Yeah, you're right," she smiled, looking around at her friends and hugging Miku tightly, the two friends both fighting off their tears with a newfound determination to face the future. "We have to be strong and find the person who killed Len. Otherwise, how's he going to rest in peace?"

Even as the friends let out a light laugh at the idea of their best friend and leader as a ghost hovering over his grave with his typical angry pout on, a sinister thought had enveloped the five teens, whether they knew it or not.

_That's right, if there really are ghosts in the world, I'm never letting Len come back to haunt me. Not after I've finally been rid of him._

* * *

Unbeknownst to the crowd, someone had been watching over them through a hidden camera in the bushes, a certain someone who was currently walking through the dead wheat fields surrounding the village of Shimori, staring at a screen in her hand broadcasting the scene at the funeral live.

As the group started to disperse in an orderly fashion, IA let out a sigh and turned the screen off. She played with one of the braids in her hair that rested before her shoulders. Her light pink hair was a slightly darker hue under the graying clouds above, her clothes much too casual for what one would expect of a professional detective. She wore a black tank top underneath a loose black shirt whose sleeves drooped off her pale shoulders and tight jeans that showed off her skinny figure. Her boots hit the ground with a light thud as IA continued her walk forward, searching for the entrance to Shimori.

IA had been dispatched by the detective agency she worked at to solve the murder that'd happened in Shimori. The village chief had called them, asking for help in a shaky tone. Apparently, a teen had been brutally murdered, and in such a small village, it was quite obvious the murderer had to be an insider. Even an amateur like IA knew that.

The fact that this was a case from an isolated village in the middle nowhere made it obvious as to why IA had been sent out, alone with little help. IA was more than a hundred percent sure that the only reason her boss had let her handle this case as her first was simply because no one cared about anything that happened in tiny, unknown villages, even if that something was murder. And who else to send but the complete newbie?

IA had asked the village chief for his cooperation beforehand in setting up a camera that'd been sent ahead to the village since mail arrived faster and people were apparently not allowed to be sent in packages to speed up travel. Through the camera IA had hoped to observe the crowd at the victim's funeral, knowing full well the murderer must have been one of the villagers. Even if it was through a screen, IA trusted her skills enough to pick out any abnormal actions form any individuals, be it a slight gesture or even a fuzzy inflection of tone. Even the smallest of details was helpful at the start of such an obscure case, and IA needed all the help she could get

Unfortunately, nothing stuck out as particularly strange to IA. The crowd blended with each other, the kids hanging out in their separate groups, the adults in another. Everything was horribly, boringly normal. Uninteresting.

As far as IA could tell, there were three main groups. The adults going up to the blond couple in the middle, obviously the grieving parents of the victim, were mumbling words of condolence that weren't well transmitted. The little kids had long since run off, leaving the group of teens closest to the camera. Judging from appearance, one of the girls must have been the victim's sister, the other four their collective friends. IA had been able to hear most of their conversation, somewhat amused to hear that they were set on finding the murderer themselves. Pretty soon they'd gone from comforting the crying girl to cheers and smiles, a rare positive attitude in dealing with a person's death.

However, it was this generalness that IA found so troubling. The fact that the adults were all busy talking to the grieving parents, the fact that the group of teens had together found a way to deal with the victim's death simply pointed IA to a disturbing fact: no one, the parents aside, appeared to be much concerned about the victim himself. IA gave the adults a little leniency since adults didn't usually interact with children, but the teens were a different story. The fact that all five of them, the sister included, had so easily let go of their grief and directed it to some other lofty goal was baffling. It wasn't even anger that IA sensed. They had simply made the assumption of how the victim might want to them to deal with his death and followed it. No clenched fists or flitting eyes, no watery eyes or lip biting, not a single hint that they might feel anger towards the murderer, that they were upset about the victim's death. They either had the craziest recovery system when dealing with stress or were the best actors IA would ever meet when hiding their inner feelings. Neither seemed likely, which only left one possibly explanation: they had simply never cared enough to let the victim's death affect them. Not just the teens. The kids, the adults, even the victim's parents, they had all been magically cheered up and moved on to other topics seemingly more important than the dead boy lying underneath the freshly turned earth.

And immediately, IA's job got a million times harder. With not a single person, as far as she could see, genuinely concerned about Len himself and obviously affected by his death, everyone was suddenly a suspect. The murderer obviously knew how to fit in with the crowd, almost as if the criminal had known that no one would really be affected by the victim's death, even though the village chief had described Len Kagamine as a sweet and popular kid everyone liked. Apparently, everyone had liked him but no one had liked him enough to care.

Feeling a little frustrated, IA kicked at a pebble on the ground, watching it soar through the air and vanish somewhere down the path. What was with this complete disregard for a person's death in the village? IA had initially thought the case would be a piece of cake. The villagers would gather together, all animated and determined to weed out the criminal who'd killed such a perfect boy. The murderer would eventually succumb and reveal himself or herself, too full of guilt to face the rest of the tight-knit village any longer.

From everything IA could see, this was far from the foolish idea she'd had. She would never have imagined a village to be more detached and broken apart. What she needed was someone she could trust to be just as determined to find the victim's murderer, someone she could trust to help her as much as they could. But where was she going to find someone like that in a village that didn't care?

Suddenly, just as a cool wind picked up and whipped IA's long hair up in a frenzy, she heard a small "Ow."

Her head snapped towards the source. Far off into the distance, next to a crooked signpost stood a tall figure dressed in a long white coat with blue edges. He had short, dark blue hair and a blue muffler wrapped around his neck, ruffling in the wind. There was something strange about the man, some mystical aura that IA was feeling as she watched the man rub the back of his head. With nothing to fear, she headed towards the man, wondering just who else could be out here in these gloomy fields.

"Hello there," IA called out, deciding to be upfront and direct in her approach. "I didn't think I'd meet anyone out here."

The man gave a start, turning to face the pink-haired girl. IA felt her breath catch in her throat. He had dark blue eyes like those of the night just after the sun had gone down. They were piercing, ice cold, glowing brightly compared to his pallid skin and bony features. The man looked worn, weathered, and yet there was a certain youthfulness in his appearance that lay underneath his sickly looking figure, leaving his age up to debate.

What struck IA was something else. For one moment, IA could've sworn she felt something strange around him, a magical feeling that hit her like an ice cool mist. Almost as if he were a being not from this world.

The blue-haired man sheepishly smiled, and the feeling was gone. All IA could see was a perfectly normal person stuck in the middle of nowhere like she was.

"Who are you?" the man asked slowly, his voice hoarse and raspy as if he hadn't used it in a long time.

"Aria Isles, a detective from Tokyo, but I'd prefer you call me IA," she responded. Why she liked being called her initials backwards was a mystery even to her, but IA had never enjoyed being called her real name, and being called AI made it sound like she was a robot, so IA she became, and it'd stuck.

"Tokyo?" the blue-haired man (or teen) furrowed his eyebrows together, deep in thought. His eyes suddenly lit up with something that could be identified as delight. "Ah, one of those big cities? I think I've heard about it somewhere. It must be a beautiful place to live in."

"I guess," IA replied with a shrug. As a person who'd grown up in big cities all her life, IA hadn't really understood just what rural people found so striking about the smoke clogged, technologically advanced cities. Perhaps this trip to this isolated village would help her find the answer, but for now, the man before her was of more importance. IA asked, "And who might you be?"

The man took a moment to respond. "Kaito, I think," came the equally slow answer just as a soft wind kicked up, ruffling through his dark blue hair.

"You think?" IA asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, I think that's my name," Kaito replied, now staring into the depths of the forest just a distance away from the two. "I'm sorry, I can't really remember."

"So you have amnesia?" IA put bluntly, crossing her arms as her foot tapped on the ground, her mind thinking. This was definitely unusual, to meet a stranger who remembered nothing in the middle of a desolate field bordered by an endless forest.

"I, no, not completely at least," Kaito slowly said, his piercing blue eyes squinting together as if searching the forest for something. "I think, there's two things I'm certain of."

"And they are?"

Kaito suddenly pointed to the forests before him, still looking at the dark woods. "I came from there," he said in his monotone.

IA followed his finger and stared. "The forest?" she demanded, incredulous.

"Yes," Kaito nodded, tilting his head to the side as if thinking.

"Okay…" IA slowly replied, twirling one of her braids around her finger. She hoped Kaito wasn't crazy or something. His words had been dead serious, so he was actually telling the truth, or he was completely out of his mind. IA wasn't quite sure which option to go with yet, so she let it slide and continued, "And the second thing?"

Kaito straightened up and glanced over at IA with a more solemn look of melancholy. "The second thing," Kaito slowly replied, taking in a deep breath as the wind started again, whirling around the two, "the second thing I remember is a boy. Blonde, blue eyes, really sweet and cheerful. I don't know why, but I have this feeling that he's the key to finding my memories."

"Do you remember his name?" IA asked, suddenly stuck with a horrible thought. Blonde, blue eyes, a sweet personality. Didn't that sound just like—

"Len," Kaito said affirmatively. "Len Kagamine."

Just as IA's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, Kaito's eyes rolled backwards and he collapsed onto the ground in a heap like a rag doll whose strings had just been cut off by its puppeteer.

* * *

**A/N: Hehe, notice how IA and Kaito are the protagonists this time? (Not that this spoils anything. I just felt they deserved to be the protagonists for once. XD)**

**As a side note, I may have changed the first chapter a bit from how I originally had it, simply because Kaito having total amnesia made everything a bit too difficult to write… Though this chapter in general was already pretty difficult to write… Sorry if the pacing of the plot is a bit slow, but I'll get to the actual cases ... someday...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. First Meeting

**A/N: So, I finally got around to copying this chapter from where I'd written it on my phone to my computer, and then I ended up adding some stuff that made it too long so now this chapter is two chapters. Yay.**

**Also, I'm sorry if anyone thinks the plot's moving along too slowly. I promise I'll get to the actual mystery solving part soon enough once I've finished establishing some stuff first. **

**Now back to the story! **

* * *

"Hey, is there anyone home? IA shouted, banging on the wooden front door of the first house she encountered. After Kaito had suddenly fainted, IA had carried him on her back (more like half dragged him around, since he was so much taller than she was). Luckily, he wasn't heavy, but his skin felt cold as ice. Probably not a good sign, so she'd dragged him along, searching for the entrance to Shimori and hoping the people in the house would be nice enough to take in two strangers.

It was the silver haired teen from the group she'd eavesdropped on who opened the door. It wasn't very noticeable, but his eyes were different colors, one slightly greener than the other one, which looked closer to a light blue. He blinked a few times from confusion before asking, "Who are you?"

"I can answer that later. Do you have someplace I can let this person lie down? I think he should see a doctor if there is one," IA hastily asked, hoping he'd be a reasonable person.

The boy took one glance at the collapsed man before stepping aside wordlessly, letting them in.

"Piko, who is it?" a voice shouted from within, similar to that of the green haired girl IA had seen.

"I don't know, but can someone go get Dr. Kamui? There's someone who's collapsed," the silver haired boy shouted as the rest of his friends appeared from one of the rooms in the house.

"I'll go," the girl with turquoise pigtails said, fumbling through the closet. "Just let me get my coat."

"Ollie, help me get him on the couch, will you?" Piko asked, moving to take Kaito off of IA, who willingly let the two boys settle Kaito down onto the couch. Now that she was with these teenagers, she decided Kaito looked to be more around their age despite his weathered look. Which of course only further confused IA as to why Kaito had been out in the fields, or why these kids didn't seem to recognize him.

"I hope you don't mind us asking, but who are you?" the green haired girl asked as her friends laid Kaito down.

"I'm a detective from Tokyo," IA replied tartly, glancing around the room to see their reaction. Surely, if one of them had anything to do with Len's murder, they would look the slightest bit anxious that a detective was here. Instead, IA's brow crinkled with confusion when she only spotted genuine surprise on their faces without a hint of tension.

"What's a detective doing here?" the girl with pigtails asked, straightening up with her coat draped over her arms.

"Of course she's here to solve Len's murder, aren't you?" Piko rolled his eyes before fixing IA with an interested look.

"Yes, I was sent here to investigate the death of Len Kagamine," IA reaffirmed his words, taking in Piko's confidence. From what she could tell, Piko appeared to be bold, ready to show off all he knew, even if it was a subconscious act.

"Oh, then that's great!" the turquoise-haired girl exclaimed, running over and giving IA a bright smile. "We were just planning to look for Len's murderer too!"

"Is that so?" IA slowly replied with a hint of hesitation in her voice and a slightly raised eyebrow.

"What, you don't think a bunch of village kids can solve a murder?" Piko demanded with an irritated look. IA simply shrugged, though inside she was surprised to see Piko be the one to react to her subtle taunt, the act of treating her suspects with a condescending tone. Used first to establish her own confidence in dealing with the case, and second, to weed out any suspects who refused to let their high sense of pride be undermined by a teenage detective, though IA was closer to being twenty than she wanted to believe.

There was another reason why IA had hesitated though. It still felt strange, all of this, even after IA had already confirmed it. The fact that this group of teens, all most likely friends of the victim, could so cheerfully talk about finding his murderer was eerie. Almost disturbingly so.

"Hey, Piko, chill," the green-haired girl said, cutting through IA's thoughts and stepping in front of Piko before he could lash out again. She turned to IA and offered a hand.

"The name's Gumi," she said, smiling a little as IA tentatively shook her hand. "Sorry about Piko here. He can get a little aggressive even though he looks like a girl."

"That's not true!" Piko protested, his face flushing with a tinge of red. IA took his reaction as his denial of his girly appearance and not a denial of the comment about his apparently aggressive nature.

"Aria Isles, but call me IA," IA replied with a confident smile. At least Gumi appeared to be a level-headed girl, though first impression were often deceiving.

"I'm Miku," the girl with pigtails chirped up. "And that's Ollie over there, though since you don't really know him yet, I guess you should call him Oliver."

IA turned her head to stare at the blond still huddling in a corner of the room. The boy gave a start and forced a smile as he nodded in acknowledgement. IA nodded back, noticing the abundance of bandages all over Oliver's face and body.

"Nice to meet you all then. I hope you'll cooperate with the investigation," IA said, hoping her words weren't too formal. She took another sweeping glance of the room and asked, "By the way, I heard Len had a twin sister? Shouldn't she be hanging out with you guys?"

The four of them exchanged a solemn look. Gumi slowly replied, "Usually, but you know, her brother just died, so the family has to set up an altar in their home and keep vigil over him for the first few days."

"Oh, is that so?" IA said, giving herself a reminder that this was a village she was in, and every village was bound to have their own customs. "And what about the guy on the couch? You've never seen him before?"

All four teens shook their heads after glancing over at Kaito, who was still passed out. IA scratched her head, a little frustrated. As a supplementary question, she added, "Then are there any villages nearby? Or past that forest outside here?"

"Well, there's Utanari, but we'd know if he was from there," Miku replied thoughtfully.

"And there's no way he could've come from any village through the woods," Piko added affirmatively, an almost grim look on his face.

"Why not?"

"Because," Piko said, glancing around at his friends before leaning closer to IA, "they're the Lost Woods. Anyone who goes in _never_ comes back out."

IA stared at the group. Not in a rude way or anything, just more out of disbelief. So they had these kinds of myths too. IA sighed, shaking her head, "Then this is going to be difficult."

"What is?"

IA jerked a finger over at Kaito. "You see," IA replied in the slow tone Piko had used, half attempting to creep them out, "when I first met this guy outside of your village, he told me specifically that he'd come from the woods."

IA wasn't sure if it was hilarious or rather unnerving that all four turned white as a bed sheet immediately.

"I-I'll go get Dr. Kamui then!" Miku stammered, stumbling on her way out the door, which slammed shut behind her.

"T-that's…" Piko couldn't seem to find the words to express what he was thinking.

"Impossible," Gumi completed for him, her face slowly gaining color as she overcame her initial shock. "Impossibly impossible but horribly intriguing. I can't wait to see what the person who survived the Lost Woods is like!"

IA took note of the sparkling excitement in Gumi's eyes but was distracted by the suddenly anxious look in Oliver's eyes (or eye, seeing how his right was covered). IA inched slightly towards him so no one would notice, getting close enough to hear the quiet teen mumble to himself in a quavering tone, "No, it can't be. How can something so terrible happen?"

IA let those words slowly sink into her mind. It didn't take a genius to realize that Oliver obviously knew some secret from the despairing look on his face. Whether it had anything to do with Len's case, IA had yet to find out, but least she had her first lead. She'd go after it once she found out some more about Kaito. Sure, he was an amnesic she'd met in the middle of nowhere, but somehow, IA had the feeling that Kaito was the key to helping her solve Len's murder. He was someone who quite possibly knew who Len was, someone not connected to the village or Len's death, supposing his amnesia and the fact that he'd been in the forest were both true.

At this very moment, Kaito began to stir, groggily sitting up on the couch. Before IA could move, Piko and Gumi had already hurried to his side, perhaps overwhelmed by their curiosity about the stranger in town, while Oliver continued to stay back.

Somehow, IA couldn't help but feel a little frustrated about Kaito's state, his voice cracking as he said hello to the excited teens. Sure, she could have those ambitious goals to look into Kaito, but where could she find any leads from someone who wasn't even from the area?

As it turned out, IA didn't even have to look far. The leads she'd hoped to find about Kaito came bursting through the door, taking the form of two adults as they stood there in the doorway, breathless and shocked, a single word echoing in the cold room.

"Kaito?"


	5. Left in the Dark

At the doctor's house had been the four young adults of the village, all four nearing the end of their twenties but not quite there yet. Gakupo, otherwise known to most of the village as Dr. Kamui, had been pacing around with a glass of water in his hand, occasionally glancing over at his three friends. Despite having grown up in a large city, Gakupo had always loved the rural life, so when Kiyoteru had offered him a position as the village doctor a few years ago, Gakupo had jumped at the chance. There he'd been greeted with a typical village life, got to interact most of the village's inhabitants, and become great friends with Meiko and Luka as well. There were times when he felt left out, but only because his friends had all grown up in this village and knew about its every little secret and nuance.

Like the boy who'd died. Gakupo still couldn't rid his mind of the image of Len's body when it'd been brought in to be "repaired" for the funeral. It'd been ripped and cut so heavily Gakupo could barely even recognize the popular teen. It was apparently the worst thing that'd happened in the village in ten years, and Gakupo still didn't know what'd happened ten years ago. None of his friends would tell him, and the only people who might've been willing to were the teenagers in the village, who didn't remember anything from their childhood anyways.

"This is just terrible," Meiko finally said, her voice muffled as she spoke through the hands covering her face. "Len was the last person I expected to die so young."

"Not to mention his killer is nowhere to be found," Luka added, taking a sip from her cup of black coffee and wincing.

"The chief did mention inviting a detective to look into his case, so maybe that'll help," Gakupo offered with the chances it might give his friends some hope.

"But think about it," Luka sighed. "Even if we did find out who did it, it'd have to be someone from the village."

Silence fell over the four of them again. None of them wanted to think about the prospect that there was a cruel murderer in the midst of the village they lived in.

"Then who do you think could've done something like that?"

They turned to Kiyoteru, who was sitting on the couch, hunched over in his seat.

"What do you mean by that?" Meiko asked, her voice wavering.

"Think about it," Kiyoteru said in his typically calm voice. "There's obviously someone out there who hated Len for a good reason."

"Oh, and you're saying you think you know who did it?" Luka said, frowning.

Kiyoteru nodded, a solemn expression on his face as he turned to face the window, the light reflecting from his glasses.

"So? Who could possibly want to kill him in such a fashion?" Luka demanded when it seemed like Kiyoteru wasn't going to respond.

Kiyoteru sighed at Luka's impatience. He closed his eyes and let his head droop, picking out his words that gushed out in a quiet whisper.

"I think someone from Len's friend group did it."

No one moved. They all just stared at Kiyoteru, trying to process the meaning of those words. The sentence hung there in the air, its heavy weight growing as the chilly air solidified it into their minds.

"Kiyoteru! How can you suggest something like that?" Meiko finally exclaimed, snapping out of her shock.

"It's just what I think," Kiyoteru said in a heavy tone.

Gakupo's eyes narrowed as he stared at his friend. "You do realize they're all just a bunch of kids, right?" Gakupo said, unable to believe Kiyoteru's accusation. Gakupo had seen more than he wished he had with what had happened to Len's body. The last thing Gakupo wanted to believe was that a teenager not yet out of school, Len's friend nonetheless, had done that to such a wonderful boy.

Kiyoteru just nodded. "Just because they're kids doesn't mean they aren't capable of violence. Or rather, because they're going through an emotionally trying phase in their lives, they might even be more prone to violence."

"And you're suspecting them just because they're teens going through puberty?" Luka demanded, setting her cup of coffee onto the table. "So what? We went through that phase, and none of us wanted to kill anyone! Besides, how could anyone even think of killing Len?"

"They're his friends. They probably had more chances to see who Len really was," Kiyoteru calmly replied, his voice more nonchalant than usual.

Gakupo furrowed his brow in confusion at Kiyoteru's words while Luka's eyes simply narrowed. Who Len really was? Wasn't it obvious enough that Len had been a cheerful, caring teen, humble about his abilities and confident as a leader?

"Kiyoteru, just what are you trying to imply here?" Meiko asked in a shaky tone, a pained expression on her face.

Kiyoteru glanced over at Meiko, his expression unchanging as he replied, "It's not like we don't know what Len was like ten years ago."

Luka's eyes flared as she leapt up onto her feet. "What's with you and clinging to the past?" she demanded, her hands balled into fists. "Why can't you just accept the fact that Len became a good person with lots of friends while you were off pursuing some stupid education?"

"Because it's unnatural," Kiyoteru snapped, glaring back at Luka without raising his voice. "He couldn't have magically become a lovable person with no enemies."

Luka's glare hardened. Her head tilted slightly upwards in the air, she stared down at Kiyoteru and snarled, "You know what I think? You just don't want to accept the fact that Len could've gotten over what happened ten years ago because you're too scared to admit that you still haven't. You're just a coward who ran away to some stupid city after everything that happened!"

"And so what if I am?" Kiyoteru shot back. "That doesn't explain the change in Len's personality does it?"

"Then why don't you ask the doctor here, huh?" Luka shouted, suddenly turning to face Gakupo. She demanded, "What do you think? Do you think Len couldn't have gotten better after overcoming the incident?"

"Uh, what?" Gakupo managed, glancing between Luka and Kiyoteru with a bewildered look. Their bickering had accelerated into a fight faster than he could process, not to mention he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

"Ok, you two can stop right there!" Meiko snapped from where she'd been sitting quietly. Glaring at Luka and Kiyoteru, she hissed, "Aren't you ashamed of yourselves? Len was just killed in a horrible way and all you two can think about doing is bicker about his personality? Sure, maybe it's weird, but can't you show some sympathy? He—he just died!"

Meiko broke down into tears, burying her face into her trembling hands. Luka and Kiyoteru exchanged a guilty look, their anger dissipating as they went over to comfort Meiko, who only cried harder.

"Meiko, we're sorry. You know we didn't mean to get into a fight like that," Kiyoteru said in a soothing tone.

"Kiyo's right. We weren't thinking straight," Luka added, patting Meiko on the back. "We're just as lost as you are about how we should be dealing with Len's death."

"I know, I know," Meiko cried, sniffling. "It's just, after everything that'd happened, I thought at least Len would get to be happy."

As Kiyoteru and Luka continued to comfort Meiko, Gakupo simply leaned against the wall, staring at the trio. Again, he found that same lonely feeling haunting him, knowing that he was being left out of some event that he hadn't been there to experience with his friends. Gakupo still didn't have a grasp on what Luka and Kiyoteru could've been arguing about moments before, nor did he understand why Meiko might've wished for Len's happiness, and as much as he'd been shattered by Len's death, Gakupo wanted to know more.

Before he could ask about anything though, the door flew open, Miku standing in the door way gasping for breath and pale as a bed sheet.

"Dr. Kamui!" Miku shouted urgently with a tremor in her voice. "We need your help!"

Gakupo gave a start, taken by surprise from Miku's sudden entrance. The others immediately straightened up and somehow wandered back to their seats like nothing had been wrong. He cast them a bewildered glance, seeing their previous troubles vanish into concern for Miku. A little disturbed and almost amused at how easily they could control their emotions, Gakupo turned his focus back on Miku and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"N-no, nothing serious," Miku stammered, trying to catch her breath. "There were these two strangers who suddenly appeared while we were at Piko's house, and one of them needs help. Or well, that's what the detective said."

"Detective?" they all collectively asked.

Miku nodded. "She said she was asked here to solve Len's murder, but the other one, she said she found him outside the village. She said he fainted or something and he might need to see a doctor."

"Well, let me gather my things and I'll come with you to see this man, okay?" Gakupo said softly, ushering Miku in and grabbing her a glass of water. "But before that, is there something troubling you? You look horrified."

"Me? I, well, it's just," Miku gulped before continuing in a hushed whisper. "The detective asked if we knew the man she'd brought in, and of course we didn't, since no one in the village has dark blue hair, and—"

"Wait, what?" Kiyoteru cut off, suddenly frozen in his seat. "Dark blue hair?"

Miku nodded, looking at the group of young adults, not getting what was so special about dark blue hair. Gakupo was equally confused, but Meiko, Luka, and Kiyoteru just looked at each other like a distant memory they hadn't thought about in a long time was suddenly resurfacing.

"Um, is there something special about dark blue hair?" Miku stammered, her shaking hands almost dropping her glass, which Gakupo wisely took out of her hands.

"Uh, no, I suppose not," Meiko replied, shaking the hopeful thought she'd just had out of her head. There was no way _he_ would've survived for ten years wherever he'd been anyways. The chances of that happening were unthinkable. "So what were you just saying?"

"Oh, well, since we didn't know anything though, she asked us if there was a town we could get to through the woods."

"The woods?"

"Yeah, the Lost Woods," Miku reaffirmed, taking in a deep breath like Gakupo told her to, to calm down. "And of course we said there was no way anyone could come through the woods since it's cursed and everything, which made the detective look all confused."

"And why was she confused?" Luka asked, leaning forward and listening with interest.

"She said, she—she said," Miku had steady her breath before a half terrified, half shocked expression appeared on her face as she continued breathlessly, "she said the blue haired man told her that he'd come from the woods."

The words were barely out of her mouth, had barely registered in their minds before Kiyoteru bolted out the door with some boundless energy unlike his usual seriousness, Meiko at his heels as they dashed down the street towards Piko's house. Gakupo stared after them before looking from the bewildered Miku to Luka, who'd been rooted to her seat, expressionless as she stared at Miku in disbelief.

"What was that about?" Gakupo asked, gesturing to where Kiyoteru and Meiko had just been sitting.

Luka simply ignored him and asked Miku in a breathless voice, "By any chance, does the man you picked up have a blue scarf and a long white coat?"

When Miku nodded yes, Luka shot up onto her feet, tears emerging from her eyes. Staring out the door left open by Kiyoteru and Meiko's mad dash outside, Luka suddenly gritted her teeth, apparently no longer acknowledging Miku and Gakupo's presence as she declared out loud to no one in particular, "Damn it, I swear, if that isn't you, Kaito…"

She never finished her sentence, instead dashing out the door just as Kiyoteru and Meiko had done, leaving Gakupo and Miku to stare at each other, completely befuddled by what had just happened. Eventually, Gakupo just let out another long sigh, picked up his medical kit, and headed out for Piko's house with Miku by his side.

Just how many secrets was he being left out on?


	6. Partners

The brown-haired woman was at Kaito's side before anyone could blink, crushing him in a bear hug as tears started to form in her brown eyes.

"Kaito! I can't believe it! It's really you!" the woman cried, squeezing Kaito tighter.

"Hey, Meiko, chill," the brown-haired man said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder so she wouldn't choke Kaito to death.

Everyone else stared blankly at the two of them just as the door flew open again, revealing an elegant looking woman with long pink hair in the doorway, gasping for breath. Upon seeing Kaito sitting there on the couch, she gasped, "You—it's really you…"

She would've collapsed onto the floor if someone hadn't caught her mid-fall, the certain someone being a young man with lengthy purple hair tied back in a neat ponytail. Miku entered the room behind him as the man helped the pinkette into a seat near the door. He looked briefly around the room before his eyes fell on Kaito. IA was half expecting him to give some outburst or the like, but he simply asked, "Is that the patient over there?"

The teens just nodded, still somewhat flabbergasted at all the reactions they'd just witnessed. IA watched attentively as the man, most likely the doctor considering his white lab coat and the first aid kit he held in his gloved right hand, went over to Kaito. For a moment, the room was completely silent other than the doctor's shushed voice as he asked Kaito some questions, asking if he felt all right.

IA took the chance to study the people who'd just arrived in the room. The brunette who had just hugged Kaito sported a short bob, her brown eyes kind and almost sparkling, reminding IA of a motherly like person. She dressed casually in a plain coat and warm dress fit with stocking and snow boots. Beside her was the man she'd entered the room with, a person who had a sharper, more intelligent look to him, perhaps emphasized by his square glasses and his narrow, serious eyes. He was dressed in a suit with his hair neat and his bangs brushed away to one side, giving him a much neater look than the doctor's, who, other than his ponytail and lab coat, had a much more carefree feel to him, not just judging from his sloppy bangs and relaxed posture as he squatted there in front of Kaito, giving him water and checking his body for anything wrong. IA's attention finally fell upon the pink haired woman who looked elegant in her white blouse and long skirt. Her hair was slightly out of place from what IA supposed was her dash over to Piko's house, but otherwise she had regained her calm, sitting in her seat upright, poised and elegant.

Something was off though. IA couldn't quite pick out what, but the pink-haired woman's elegance was so much that it looked almost stiff. Not just that, the scholarly man looked uncomfortable where he was, his eyes flitting from Kaito to anywhere in the room and back, as if he couldn't get used to the fact that Kaito was there in front of him. IA might not have known just who they were, but if they weren't connected to Len's case, they were acting suspicious enough to pin them as persons to be looked into when searching for details about what'd happened to Kaito.

Finally, IA broke the silence and hesitantly asked, "You know Kaito?"

"Of course we do!" the brunette called Meiko exclaimed, snapping out of her reverie. "I mean, this was a long time ago, so you guys were too young to remember, but he was our friend before he disappeared into the woods ten years ago."

"Ten years ago?" IA asked, brows furrowing. "And is Kaito supposed to be around your age?"

When they collectively nodded, IA turned to stare at Kaito, her eyes narrowing in disbelief. If that were true, then Kaito should've been in his late twenties, but from his appearance, he was at most in his late teens. She asked, "Then how could he possibly not have grown at all these past ten years?"

The three adults both glanced over at Kaito, as if the thought had just occurred to them.

"Oh my, you're right!" the brunette exclaimed, squinting at Kaito with a concerned look. "Kaito, you look exactly the same from when you disappeared!"

Kaito just gave a start at her outburst and cast her a startled look, creating a cloud of confusion over the three adults, as if they hadn't expected Kaito to react that way to them. Remembering that she hadn't yet told them about Kaito's condition, IA hastily explained, "I'm sorry, I know you are all excited, but there's something you need to know."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

IA glanced over at Kaito and said, "The thing is, Kaito lost all of his memories, so he probably doesn't remember anything about you either. From what he's told me, he only has a few remaining memories about Len."

The brunette's expression immediately fell solemn as she whispered, "What? How's that possible?"

"Magic probably," was the tart answer from the man in glasses, an answer that surprised IA, mostly because she'd at least imagined him to be somewhat of a scholarly person who would know better than to believe in magic.

Apparently no one else thought his answer was strange because they all went along with it. The ladylike woman with pink hair had already hastily nodded and said, "That does make sense."

"Well, if he really doesn't remember who we are, we'll just have to keep helping him," the brunette said in a positive tone. "We're his friends after all."

"But don't you think he might be happier not remembering anything?" the intelligent man said, his voice low. "We don't know what happened to him in the woods, and since he probably doesn't even remember his own family, we wouldn't need to tell him about that."

A solemn atmosphere fell over the three as IA processed the words he'd just said. Before she could ask if something had happened to Kaito's family, the adults suddenly turned to stare at IA, as if just realizing she wasn't someone from the village. "Wait, who are you?"

"IA, detective," IA replied tartly. It was the third time she'd introduced herself that day, and it was getting boring. Fast.

"Ah, the one Miku mentioned?" the man said, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Thank you for coming out all this way to help."

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," IA replied, not expecting such a formal greeting. "And you are?"

"Kiyoteru Hiyama, the teacher at the school here," the man said, shaking IA's hand, which was surprisingly warm despite the chill in the room. He directed IA's attention to the brunette and continued, "And that's Meiko Sakine. I apologize beforehand for her brash personality."

"Hey, Kiyo, stop creating a false picture of me," Meiko said, shooting Kiyoteru a glare before giving IA a kind smile. "Please don't take Kiyoteru too seriously. He's too much of a pessimist."

"That's true," the pink-haired woman chimed in, stepping up to give IA's hand a shake. "I'm Luka Megurine, and if you haven't figured it out already, that's Dr. Gakupo Kamui over there tending to Kaito."

"Who, might I add, seems to be perfectly fine other than his obvious frailty," the doctor said, straightening up from his position next to Kaito. "I don't know what happened to him but it doesn't seem to be anything serious."

"Is that so?" IA said, lost in her own thoughts before she suddenly realized the discrepancy in front of her. She turned to the doctor and asked, "Why don't you know what happened to him?"

"Hmm?" Dr. Kamui looked over at her with a blank look. "I mean, I'm guessing it has something to do with this forest Meiko mentioned, but other than I don't know anything."

"Dr. Kamui's not from the village," Piko quickly offered at the sight of IA's confused look. "He doesn't really know the lore and stuff that goes around the village."

"More like none of you ever bothered to tell me," the doctor muttered under his breath, letting out a tired sigh. IA had the feeling no one else heard his quiet complaint, as everyone else had started a rather loud conversation about how Kaito's condition was similar to some story.

Eventually, IA sighed and sat down next to Kaito, who had been sitting there quietly the entire time, his brows furrowed together like something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" IA asked, turning to look at Kaito, who was staring at Meiko keenly with his deep blue eyes, as if he was thinking really hard about something.

"No, it's just I feel like I've heard Meiko's name somewhere," Kaito mumbled, massaging his forehead.

"You probably have," IA said, staring at the brunette who was smiling brightly as the teens, even quiet looking Oliver, surrounded the adults with questions. "She seems to be your childhood friend after all."

Kaito just shook his head, his frown deepening. "I understand that, but it's not that. I feel like I saw the name Meiko written somewhere, but I just don't remember where."

"Well, don't force yourself to remember," IA suggested, twirling one of her braids around her finger. "You've already clung onto the thought, so just wait patiently for the whole thing to surface. It's easier to remember things when you're not thinking of them after all."

Kaito nodded slowly, accepting her advice. Another thought seemed to strike Kaito as he suddenly spoke up and asked, "So, where's Len?"

The atmosphere immediately froze, a single thought biting at their noses like a sudden frost in the middle of spring. They'd all been so excited that Kaito had survived that they'd forgotten about the real problem: Kaito still didn't know Len was dead.

"Oh, well, you see, while you were gone, he…" Meiko trailed off, unable to find an excuse.

Kiyoteru picked up where she left off, the lie rolling off his tongue like it was second nature for him. "He started getting better at school, so he wanted to go to the city to learn more."

"Oh," was Kaito's simple answer. His brows furrowed as he asked, "So he went to the city?"

Before Kiyoteru could confirm Kaito's answer, IA suddenly cut in with a deathly serious tone, "No. Len was killed a few days ago."

Everyone was silent, staring at IA, aghast by her bluntness. IA simply ignored them, her eyes fixed on Kaito's, watching as horror slowly spilled across his face.

"L-Len was … killed?" Kaito stammered, his last word coming out as a squeak. IA nodded as the faint color in Kaito's face started to drain back out again. He started to say something but it ended up stuck in the back of his throat, a word he couldn't utter as his eyes rolled back and he fell back onto the couch, unconscious once more.

"What were you thinking?" Luka shrieked, attempting to storm over to IA before Gakupo held her back.

Expressionless, IA got up onto her feet. She faced the group and asked, "I think I should be asking you that question. What were you thinking, trying to trick Kaito into believing that Len was still alive?"

"Len was his best friend!" Meiko exclaimed in defense, an angry look running across her face. "You could have waited until he was ready to break the news to him!"

"And what use would that have?" IA calmly replied, her eyes narrowing. "There is never a good time to tell someone their good friend has died. You can't keep him in the dark forever, so it's best that he found out as soon as possible. At least now he can do something about it."

"How do you know that's better then?" Luka demanded, pushing forward to tower over IA, who didn't flinch.

"I certainly know more than you," was all IA said before abruptly turning to face Kaito, who seemed to be regaining consciousness. IA took one long breath to calm herself. There was no use getting into an argument over such a petty thing. As a detective, her job was simply to find the murderer. She didn't need to justify her actions. There was no point for a suspect to learn anything about IA and her past experiences. It would only hinder the investigation, so IA focused instead on the man in front of her.

"That doesn't justify telling him though, does it?" Piko suddenly spoke up, cocking his head to one side as he stared at IA's back. "What's the point of telling a guy who'd disappeared for ten years that Len died? You're not going to get anything out of it, so there's no reason to tell him."

"Actually, I will get more than nothing from it," IA replied, speaking to the wall in front of her, her voice echoing back to the villagers behind her. "Because he's been gone for the past ten years, he has no connection to the crime. By telling him about Len's death, I gain a partner I can actually trust."

"You don't trust us?" Gumi repeated, twirling a strand of her short green hair.

"Not in the slightest," IA bluntly replied, shifting to turn her face towards the group. "I have plenty of reasons to be suspicious of every single one of you, and that also applies to every single person in this village. With all this talk about magic and that Lost Woods story you have, I'll even suspect the toddlers of demonic possession if it comes to that. Everyone had a chance to perpetrate the crime, and unless you have an alibi or a justifiable reason as to why you couldn't have killed Len, you are all suspects. This is how I work as a detective, so get used to it."

"But you're really going to trust Kaito?" Kiyoteru pointed out. "He doesn't remember anything, and he's still weak from what happened to him. What if he isn't willing to help you?"

"That's why I'm going to ask the person in question," IA said, looking down at Kaito, who'd woken up and was sitting there on the couch with a lost look on his face. When the blue-haired man glanced up at IA to meet her icy blue eyes, she asked, "So, let me ask this first. How are you feeling?"

Kaito paused for a moment before he asked shakily, "Is Len really dead?"

When IA tartly nodded in return, Kaito gulped and stared down at his trembling pale hands. He started, "I—I don't really know what to feel. I think somewhere inside me is sad, but even then I still can't really remember who he was, much less anything at all."

"Is that it?" IA said, staring long and hard at Kaito.

Kaito shook his head. "No. I think the only reason I'm not that sad must be because I can't remember Len that well. I can't be sad over him simply because everyone says he was my friend. The only way I can know how I really feel is if I learn more about Len and who he was to me. I think if I can do that, if I can accept everything that's happened, I'll get my memories back, and I can find out just how I should feel."

"Then do you want to find Len's murderer?"

"Yes." Kaito stared straight up at IA without blinking. "If finding the murderer means learning more about Len and getting my memories back, I want to find the murderer."

IA returned Kaito's stare, studying the look in his eyes. All she found was determination, a desire to find the truth. There were no lies in Kaito's words, just an honest expression of who he was, and for IA, it was more than enough to bring a smile to her face.

"It's decided then," IA said, holding a hand out for Kaito to shake. She pulled him up onto his two feet with more strength than one might expect from a girl her size and declared, "From now on, you will be my partner. You will tell me about everything you observe no matter how stupid you think it is, and you will help me with the investigation until we get to the bottom of it. Cool?"

Kaito gave her a tart nod in return, perhaps too flabbergasted to say anything in return to IA's sudden outburst.

"Good," IA said, her grin widening. "I'll be relying on your help then, Kaito."

Kaito took a moment to return her smile, a soft twinkle in his dark blue eyes as he answered, "I guess I will be too, IA."

With that, IA turned back to the group before her, a new partner by her side, a crime waiting for her to solve. She gave the room a quick study. It was an interesting coincidence, that the group of people before her split into two groups, each with a connection to a different part of the crime. The teens along with the missing twin connected to the victim himself, the most immediate suspects. The young adults minus the doctor connected to Kaito, who brought with him another interesting question in need of an answer.

Everyone had their eyes on IA now. As far as she could tell, there was no sign of weakness, should any of the people before her be the criminal she was looking for, but the anticipation was there in all of their eyes, an anticipation that demanded, "What is she going to do? What is going to happen next?"

For that, she only had one answer.

"Well then," IA said, her voice echoing in the cold room, a faint smirk appearing on her face. "Let's begin the investigation, shall we?"

* * *

**A/N: Finally! Time to move on to what I hope will be the more interesting part! XD I have some stuff planned out, so good luck in trying to figure out the mystery and culprit! I'll try my best to lay out clues and introduce more details throughout the story with what I have now.**

**Also, because Captionem asked, the title for this story was sorta picked on the spot, but if I had to explain it, it would be that frostbite is (obviously) caused by prolonged exposure to the cold and can result in numbness and eventual death of tissue. Similarly, if you think of the secrets as frost because Shimori is supposed to be a very wintery village, the villagers are figuratively suffering from frostbite by hiding secrets and closing themselves off from the world. Something like that. If it sounds stupid or something I apologize... XP **

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. A Clue in Silence

**A/N: I am so sorry for this late update in my unofficial hiatus. Unfortunately I'll still be out for probably the rest of the year, but I promise I'll work harder on all of my stories once the new year comes around and I have more time for everything in life.**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"So, you ready for your first investigation?" IA asked as she headed out with Kaito by her side.

Kaito nodded, glancing back over at Piko's house. They'd left the group there to go to the Kagamine residence, IA hoping that they might be able to learn more about Len and get a good look at what used to be the crime scene. Even if the room where Len had been found in was most likely cleaned up, there was still a chance that something might've been left behind, something that might lead them to the killer or to the reason Len was killed.

IA noted the slightly wistful look on Kaito's face. She added, "Did you want to stay there to find out a bit more about your friends?"

Kaito just scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "A little bit, but it's probably more important to find the murderer first, right?"

IA smiled, accepting Kaito's determination. A thought occurred to her and she pulled out a pen and a small notebook from her back pocket, scribbling something down.

"What are you writing?" Kaito asked, curious.

IA paused to show him. "I like to write down stuff during investigations," IA explained. "It helps to keep track of little details I might observe about things and people no matter how minor they are because you never know what could help you."

"Oh, okay," Kaito said, nodding as if he agreed with IA's tactics. "And my job is just to tell you anything I observe?"

"Yep, that's all," IA said, continuing to scribble words down at a speedy pace. "Making your own theories is fine too, but those at least have to make sense."

"Got it," Kaito said before his attention was caught by the scenery around him. Watching him fall silent, IA decided to put away her notebook for the moment in order to take in her surroundings to get a better look at the village.

As expected, the village of Shimori was a considerably quiet place compared to the city. Apart from a few people wandering the village, IA assumed that most were busy inside, considering the chilly temperature and light snow that had blanketed the village. The skies were relatively clear for now, but from everything IA had heard about Shimori before she'd left the city, Shimori was a place where it would suddenly start snowing with no warning. From where she'd entered at the west end of the village, a long wide street stretched all the way to the other side of the village, lined with small houses of simple structures. Walking down the main road, IA noticed several smaller paths that branched off the main road, leading to other buildings and houses, the library and doctor's office as the two main ones that caught IA's attention aside from the village chief's house, which stood right in the middle of the small village, a central pillar supporting Shimori no doubt. IA made a note to go there later to greet the chief and thank him for his cooperation, but for now, the Kagamine household was her primary destination. There was likely nothing left at the crime scene, but IA wanted to check it out anyways, just in case. With luck, she might just get the chance to interview the Kagamine family. In particular, she wanted to observe Len's twin, Rin, the missing piece of the group that made up of what IA supposed were Len's close friends. Suspect or not, as a person who obviously interacted with Len more than her friends, Rin should have been able to provide IA with some more knowledge about Len as a person as well as anything about him that might've incited the murderer's wrath.

"It really is quiet around here," Kaito suddenly said, his eyes continuing to trail over the scenery.

"A bit. It's not really to my liking though," IA remarked, letting out a long sigh and watching her breath float up and away into the cold air, silent except for the crunching of snow underneath their feet.

"Really? Why not?"

IA cast another sweeping glance at her surroundings. "It has a strange feeling to it, this silence that is. A brutal murder might've just happened, but you would think it'd bring a small village like this together. Instead, everyone's just hiding away in their own homes, minding their own business. It makes the people living here look all the more suspicious, as if they've got their own little secrets to hide."

"I guess, but I still like it," Kaito mused, watching the skies as gray clouds began to gather. "I mean, I probably spent the past ten years somehow alone, wandering those woods, but this silence is still a comforting feeling for me. I feel like this is the kind of silence that let's you find out just who you are and what you're capable of."

IA paused in her footsteps, staring long and hard at Kaito's pensive look, his dark blue eyes sparkling under the last rays of sunlight before it was covered by clouds. He suddenly turned an gave IA a cheerful smile as he laughed, "Of course, it's probably just because I used to live here."

IA couldn't help but return that innocent smile.

She had to wonder just what would happen to Kaito if he remembered his experience in the woods. Would he still be able to keep that optimistic, innocent attitude of his, or would he succumb to the dark memories hidden in the depths of his mind? No doubt it'd been a devastating experience, possibly one of walking alone for years in despair. IA couldn't imagine how anyone could possibly remain so cheerful about life like they had once been upon remembering something like that.

It suddenly struck IA that the silence Kaito had described was strikingly similar to how she envisioned his experience in the woods. The silence he'd had to endure, alone and unyielding, that was exactly the kind of situation where one would be forced to discover who they actually were, to find out if they had what it took to live. Could it be that the person Kaito was now wasn't actually who he used to be, but instead who he'd become through his experience in the woods, just without the memories that'd shaped him into who he was?

_If that were true,_ IA thought to herself, once again studying Kaito's now blank expression as he turned his attention back to his surroundings. _If that really were true, I really made a great decision in trusting Kaito._ After all, with the mess IA knew she was headed for, it never hurt to have an optimistic partner who had what it took to get through difficult situations.

"By the way," IA remarked, suddenly remembering Kaito's comment back in Piko's house, "do you remember why you thought Meiko's name was familiar from before?"

Kaito cocked his head to one side in thought before slowly replying, "Well, I couldn't really remember at the time, but I think it was from this."

He reached into his pocket and gently took out an old note, its edges frayed and crumbling. Kaito held out the note for IA to inspect, which she did after putting on a pair of gloves, carefully taking the note into her hands.

IA immediately frowned at the sight of the contents on the note. Mumbling to herself, she read the note again, careful not to mistake any words due to the faded ink and scribbled writing.

_I have something to tell you. Can you meet me by the woods? ~Meiko_

IA slowly lifted her eyes from the note to look over at Kaito, who still had a troubled expression on his face. She asked, "And you found this in your pocket?"

Kaito nodded, his frown growing. "Do you think she's the one who made me go into the forest?"

IA pursed her lips before massaging her forehead. "Well, given this note, it makes you think she's the culprit, doesn't it? But I think it's more complicated than that," IA replied, pointing to the words on the note. "First of all, Meiko looked very comfortable around you, so was a note necessary if she wanted to talk to you? Even more, seeing how much all of them believed in the story about those Lost Woods, I think she would be smart enough to not meet up right near there, don't you think?"

Kaito pondered it for a bit before nodding his head in agreement. A thought suddenly struck IA and she commented, "Though since you grew up here as well, you must have had better sense than to actually go meet up with someone near the woods, right?"

"Are you saying I got lost in the woods for ten years because I was stupid enough to be tricked into meeting someone there?" Kaito grumbled, carefully taking the note back into his hands and gently tucking it back into his pocket.

IA just shrugged, amused that Kaito would come to that conclusion before she could even propose it. She continued, "Anyways, even if Meiko did write that note, she probably wouldn't admit to it, so I'll take a sample of her handwriting some other time. Then again, her handwriting might have changed in these past ten years, so I can ask her for a copy of her writing from ten years ago if you'd like."

Kaito simply stared up at the sky, observing the gray clouds drift lazily through the blue skies. He replied, "Thank you, but since you're probably going to be busy solving Len's case, I'll see if I can figure things out for myself."

"Whatever suits you," IA said, suddenly holding out an arm to stop Kaito in his tracks. "Just pay more attention to your surroundings so you don't get lost again."

"That's… Whatever happened wasn't really my fault," Kaito muttered, pulling his scarf up to cover his mouth, his eyes trained on the snow covered path beneath his feet.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, everyone is supposed to get lost in the Lost Woods," IA sighed, her mind once again falling back to the bizarre story that she'd heard about the woods. "But that's not what I meant. We're here."

Kaito looked up in surprise to find himself facing a simple yet cozy home of two stories, a small nameplate hanging next to the front door with the name "Kagamine" written elegantly on it. From what IA could see, the small yard in front of the house was kept neat and tidy, a sign that the owners had been meticulous in tending to its appearance despite the horrible accident that had happened.

The lights were off inside, but the windows appeared to be big enough to let most of the sunlight enter the house for ample natural light. Not much evidence that the Kagamine family was home, but IA would just have to hope luck was on her side for once.

Before IA could even knock on the front door though, it slid open to reveal a small petite girl with short blonde hair, a giant white bow sitting atop of her head as if to make her presence all the more apparent. As the girl's big blue eyes widened, IA glanced over at Kaito for a reaction. Seeing the quick look of confusion flit across Kaito's face as if seeing the girl had triggered something inside of him, IA had all the evidence she needed that the young girl was Rin Kagamine, who resembled her dead brother all too well.

"Are you looking for someone?" the girl asked, breaking through IA's thoughts as she recovered from her initial surprise that IA guessed was from seeing a stranger.

"Actually, I'm just here to ask questions and look around. You're Rin Kagamine, I assume?" IA replied, her eyes sweeping over the girl's figure. She was dressed casually in a light jacket over a white shirt and jeans, but it was her eyes that stood out to IA, a shining blue, bright and clear despite the dampened light outside. When Rin gave her another questioning look, IA added, "I'm IA, a detective sent here to look into your brother's death, and this here is Kaito, my partner. I'm sorry if this is a bad time, but would you mind answering some questions?"

Strangely, IA noticed Rin's pale hands slowly curl into fists, almost as if it were a subconscious act of some sort. Rin's expression remained calm enough, sadness slow to appear on her face. Biting her lip ever so slightly, Rin replied, "Yeah, it's fine. My parents are out right now, but we can go in and talk for awhile. I'll have to leave soon though, but you can stay and look around afterwards if you'd like to."

"Are you sure?" IA asked. "We can come back later when it's more convenient. I'm going to be here for a while after all."

"No, no, it's fine," Rin insisted, ushering them inside, quickly shutting the door behind them. "I was just going to meet up with my friends but they can wait. The living room is up ahead, so please make yourself comfortable."

Rin quickly disappeared into what IA assumed was the kitchen. IA immediately headed over to one of the two sofas in the room and sat down, quickly scanning the room. Other than the large window to her right, the walls stood barren, making the small room feel even emptier and colder than it already was. IA let out a long sigh, watching as her breath formed white puffs even inside, before finally turning her attention to Kaito, who's simply been standing in the doorway, looking quite uncomfortable.

"What's wrong?" IA asked, motioning the man to take a seat beside her on the sofa.

Kaito hesitated before obeying, eyes flitting nervously around the room. He finally turned his gaze towards IA, but just as he was about to answer, Rin came bursting through the door, two glasses of water in her hands as she placed them in front of IA and Kaito on the coffee table.

Rin then sat down on the edge of the couch across from them, eyes calmly fixating onto IA's as Rin asked, "So what did you want to ask about?"

IA hadn't actually thought that far yet. Her main objective had been to search Len's room, and maybe the house if she was given permission to, so she wasn't yet ready to question Rin or anyone else for that matter without making it obvious that they weren't just suspects, they were also all acting suspicious simply because they were acting perfectly fine.

"Well," IA started off, collecting her thoughts quickly, "to start off, you are the sister of Len Kagamine, correct?"

Rin nodded, her eyes cast downward as if the sadness of having lost her brother was finally starting to hit her. A genuine expression, IA guessed, but unlike how she might usually treat suspects, she decided to put Rin's raw reaction to the test.

"And can I assume that you are currently going off to meet with your friends, Piko, Gumi, Miku and Oliver to discuss your brother's murder?"

Rin looked up, surprised kneaded in her brow. "How'd you know that?"

"I met them when I first entered the village," IA simply replied, dismissing Rin's surprise, glossing over the fact she'd first heard of their scheme through a transmitter hidden at Len's funeral.

It was enough to satisfy Rin's confusion. She gave IA a meek smile, the only hint so far of a possibly bubbly personality that was currently dimmed by her brother's death. She commented, "Well, since you seem to know a lot, I just want to say that we're going to investigate Len's death no matter what you say to us. He's my brother, and I want to be the one to at least give him the peace he deserves."

"Of course," IA agree, a glowing smile appearing on her usually expressionless face. "In fact, it'd help me a lot if we could cooperate, but before that, there's one question I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on."

"And what's that?" Rin asked, her head tilting to one side slightly.

IA's smile immediately vanished, a much more serious expression filling her face. Watching Rin with her icy blue eyes, IA slowly asked, "So which one of your friends do you think killed your brother?"


	8. Interview: Rin 1

Rin stared at IA long and hard, seemingly not comprehending what IA had just said. Slowly, she said, "What?"

"Which one of your friends do you think killed your brother?" were IA's words again in a monotone, her eyes never once leaving Rin's face.

This time, the words sunk in. Rin was on her feet in an instant, clenched fists and a flustered look on her face as she stammered, "W-w-what are you saying? O-one of my friends killed Len? That, that's just your speculation right? Why would they want to kill Len anyways?"

As Rin rambled on, IA simply watched rather amusedly as Kaito attempted to calm the girl down. A typical reaction, something not easy to fake, especially when the person in question probably had no idea what the purpose of IA's question was. True, she did suspect the kids Len hung out with the most, but whether Rin had an answer to her question was none of her business. The fact that she was flustered by the question rather than actually being able to answer it meant that at the very least, Rin trusted her friends and must have never considered the idea that any of them might be suspects. Of course it could all be a well-played act, but for now, IA was willing to believe that Rin so far had no reason to put blame on her friends for what had happened.

"Okay, okay, calm down," IA finally said, getting up and helping Rin back into her seat after Kaito's failure to calm the girl down properly. Handing Rin a glass of water, IA instructed the girl to drink, which she did without a fuss. Probably meant there wasn't anything bad in it either.

"First off," IA started after Rin had composed herself again, "I apologize for springing that question on you. I just wanted to know if you had an opinion about who your brother's murderer might be, and to tell the truth, you're the least suspicious of all the people I've met in this town so far. Of course, you have no need to suspect your friends, but I wanted to see if you had any suspicions of your own first before I ask my own questions."

It was a lie of course, the reason, but as long as Rin bought into the feeling of security that IA trusted her (IA didn't in the slightest), it was worth it. Immediately, Rin seemed to relax a bit, her tight fists slowly unclenching. She smiled apologetically at them and said, "I'm sorry for freaking out like that. I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed, especially after the funeral, and I really don't want to think that my friends are capable of doing something like that to Len."

"I understand how you feel," IA said as reassuringly as she could. She opted not to question why Rin was referring to the group of teens she'd met earlier as "my" friends and not "our" friends. Probably nothing important for now, so IA shoved it to the back of her mind and continued, "I know you don't want to suspect your friends of anything, so it'll help if you answer as truthfully as you can. Are you okay with talking about the day your brother died?"

"Yeah," Rin replied. "It was last Friday. We were here celebrating the weekend after class ended. Oh, I mean we as in me, Len, Miku, Piko and Gumi."

"Oliver wasn't with you?"

"He came later. We were planning on helping him with cleaning duty just to make sure he would be okay, but he told us to go ahead first. We didn't want to, of course, but we didn't want him to feel like he was keeping us from enjoying our free time since he can be sensitive sometimes, so we went ahead back here first."

"And why were you worried about Oliver? I mean, I noticed he seems to be injured, but is that it?" IA asked, deep in thought.

"Oh, no, Ollie might look like that but he's in good health," Rin said. "His eye is, well, from an accident when we were kids, but that's not why we were worried. He had cleaning duty with some of the Utanari kids, and they've been picking on him recently. Especially this new city kid, Ritsu. She's really rude and arrogant and —oh, I'm sorry, I'm going off topic aren't I?"

"It's fine," IA said reassuringly. "Any kind of detail is great for an investigation. Just to be clear, Utanari is the village nearby, right?"

"Yeah, it's a little along the way if you go along the path out of the village alongside the Lost Woods. We go to school with the kids there, and they're not the nicest of people. Len was always there to stand up for us, so they haven't been bothering us lately, but now that he's gone…"

Rin's face settled again into a gloomy expression, but before IA could think of something to cheer the girl up, she recovered and continued, "Anyways, yeah, we didn't want to leave Ollie there like that but he insisted so we left for here first."

"And Oliver didn't give a specific reason why he was fine with you guys going along first?" IA pressed, something not quite matching up in her brain. It was a trivial point, and yet IA couldn't help but find it suspicious. From what she'd seen, Oliver was a timid kid, definitely not the kind who would be fine with hanging around kids who had a tendency to bully him. Unless, of course, there was something more to Oliver than what met the eye.

Rin just shook her head and IA let the question slide, writing it down in her notebook. Moving on, she asked, "Then can you tell me everything that happened leading up to Len's death? Or at least until whoever found him first?"

"Well, after we arrived here after school, I was with Miku in the kitchen preparing the snacks. I think Len was with Gumi and Piko here in the living room, probably just talking since our TV doesn't have too many interesting channels," Rin said, glancing over at the small TV that sat there on one of the tables pressed to the wall. "By the time we were done preparing the snacks though, only Gumi was in the room. From what she said, Len had wanted to discuss something with Piko in his room."

"Do you know what that something is?"

"I'm not sure, but it seemed like they got into an argument because of it, since Piko came back looking shaken and angry. He looked like he didn't want to talk about it, so we didn't press him for details."

"And what about Len? Did he come back down?"

Rin shook her head. "After Piko came back, Gumi went to talk to him but she said Len wouldn't talk to her. Miku tried with the same result before I went to check after Ollie joined, but like Gumi and Miku said, Len wouldn't respond or open the door, so I just went back downstairs."

"Was the door locked?"

When Rin shook her head again, IA continued with a frown, "Then why didn't you just go in to talk to him?"

"Well, Len was always really nice and everything but he liked his privacy, so I thought it was better if I just left him alone for him to cool his head," Rin slowly said. "It might've been locked, though I doubt it since Ollie…"

Rin suddenly trailed off, a sad look on her face before IA prompted her to keep speaking by asking, "Was Oliver the one who found Len's body?"

Rin gulped and tartly nodded. "We decided it'd be better to have some fun without Len while we waited for him to come back down at first, but when it was getting late, Ollie decided to see what he could do and, and that's when we discovered that Len was … dead."

No one spoke for a long time as Rin sat there, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap, looking as if she might burst into tears. Neither IA nor Kaito made a move to go comfort the girl. IA knew the pain of losing someone close to you, but she knew better than to get emotionally involved with the people she was investigating. Sure, it made her sound like a cold-hearted person, but that was how IA was, how she'd always been since that unfortunate event from her childhood. She didn't form unnecessary emotional attachments. She was there for the truth, and only the truth.

Finally, IA let out a quiet cough to break the silence, slowly offering a quick word of condolences before continuing. "I know this is really hard on you, Rin, but could you tell me a little bit about what your brother was like?"

Rin looked up quickly, a small smile appearing on her face. "Len was a really nice person. Everyone who knew him would probably tell you the same thing. He was always ready to help people, and he was especially nice to the little kids so naturally they adored him. Plus he was a really good student, so he was always helping out with our classwork, and even the Utanari kids couldn't faze him with their rudeness."

As Rin rambled on about Len's many accomplishments, IA only listened half-heartedly, her mind wandering off. From what Rin was saying, Len was perfect in absolutely every way. Smart, good-looking, justice-driven, ambitious, kind-hearted. And something about that screamed "Wrong!" to her. No one was ever that perfect. It was human nature to err, making it impossible to ever be perfect.

And yet Rin sounded as if she believed those words whole-heartedly, as if Len really was capable of being so perfect. So just to make sure, IA cut into Rin's words and asked, "I think I get the general picture now, but were there any flaws your brother had? Anything that might make someone want to harm him?"

Rin paused to think about it for a long time, her brows furrowing together. Finally she said, "Well, if there was one thing, it's probably as I mentioned how he likes to enjoy his privacy. I think that's the only thing that irritated him, when someone disturbed him during his downtime, so we all learned to let him have his peace and quiet when he wanted to. I don't know if that's something that would make someone want to kill Len, but then again, I guess, I never really bothered to find out what he does when he's alone. I'm not sure how much that helps though with the case."

"Don't worry about it," IA reassured her, making a note in her notebook. _Hates being disturbed when he's alone. _IA stared at those words underneath the profile she was constructing of Len before turning back up to Rin and asking, "So how was your relationship with your brother like?"

Rin's faltering response didn't escape IA's notice. "Oh, well, you know, we had a good relationship with each other," Rin quietly mumbled as her voice slowly gained strength again. "He was always helping me whenever I was feeling down or had trouble with school or whatever, and, well honestly I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to him not being here with me anymore since we were always together."

'Well, that's what your friends are there for, right?" IA suggested, thinking back to the conversation she'd overheard them having back at Len's funeral.

Rin smiled and nodded. "True, they've been there for me since forever."

"Can you tell me anything about their relationships with Len? Anything is fine, even if you don't think it's important."

"Oh, well Len had a good relationship with all of them. We weren't too surprised that he seemed to have gotten into some argument with Piko since they did argue with each other once in a while, never anything serious though since Piko really looked up to Len. Or at least that's what I think. You could probably ask Piko about that. I guess Gumi's always acted like an arbiter for the two of them whenever they fought, and especially since she's always so calm and everything. She was always talking to Len about school stuff, since the two of them were the smartest out of all of us, so she always got along well with Len. Ollie definitely liked Len a lot too, since he's always been a lot more open with Len than with the rest of us. And Miku, well, Len was always nice to everyone and Miku really liked hanging out with him so…"

"She had a crush on him?" IA put rather bluntly, guessing what Rin was trying to imply.

Rin sheepishly smiled. "Yeah. I think Miku was probably too embarrassed to admit it, but we all kinda knew from the way she acted around him. Though I doubt Len realized it since I don't think he was too interested in romance."

IA took note of Rin's words and glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall above the doorway leading back to the kitchen. Deciding this would be a good place to break, she said, "Well, thank you for answering all my questions for now. I've taken up a lot of your time and I don't want to keep you from your friends for long."

"Oh no, I'm glad I could help. It would be really nice to find the person behind all this after all," Rin said, getting to her feet and awkwardly shaking IA's outstretched hand as if unused to being so formal with people. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

"Oh, then would you mind if we stayed behind to look around? I did want to check out your brother's room, but if you're uncomfortable with us staying behind, we can always come back later when you or your parents are home," IA asked. She half expected Rin to say no. After all, anyone living in the city would've felt awkward about a stranger sleuthing around in their empty house, but then again, this was a small village. They probably didn't even lock their doors half the time.

To IA's delight, although it didn't show on her face, Rin happily consented. "I don't know if you'll find anything though. We had to get his room cleaned up after… we found Len, so we probably destroyed anything that would've been helpful to you," Rin said apologetically before brightening up and adding, "but Dr. Kamui and Kiyo-sensei might have some pictures if you wanted to see them."

"I'll go ask them later then," IA said, walking with Rin as she began to head back out the front door.

"Oh, and when you're done, you can just leave through the front door," Rin said with a small smile. "There's nothing valuable in our house so we don't usually lock the door."

"Got it. Thanks for letting us stay."

Rin smiled in return before turning to leave. Silence filled the house the moment Rin shut the door, leaving IA and Kaito standing alone in the cold house. IA involuntarily shivered, a sudden chill running through her as if something ominous had resurfaced the moment its inhabitants left.

Kaito seemed to feel it too because he said, "Remember when you asked what was wrong before you started asking Rin questions?"

"Yeah?"

"Well that's because it really feels like something's haunting this place."

IA pondered the thought for a moment and shrugged. "Someone did die here after all. With all the mystery surrounding you, I don't think I'd be surprised by anything by now, even if it really were a ghost or something."

Kaito simply shook his head, deep in thought. When he provided no answer to his ponderings, IA suggested, "Well if that's the case, let's go check Len's room, shall we?"

They found the stairs to the second floor easily enough, and a quick glance down the small hallway from where IA and Kaito stood at the top of the staircase was enough to discern whose room was whose. Rin and Len each had their own separate rooms, as evidenced by their nametags hanging on two side-by-side doors on their left, their parents' bedroom nearest the stairwell with a door to their right. IA headed for Len's room, the one furthest down the hall, with Kaito following her hesitantly, looking as conflicted as ever.

IA quietly opened the door to Len's room and stepped inside. His room was dark, even after IA turned on the lights, the curtains draped over the only window in the room. Opposite the window was a tidy looking twin-sized bed, a bed-side cabinet beside it, empty except for a small alarm clock that stood on it, ticking away despite a small dent on the side, as if someone had tried too hard to silence the clock one early morning. A desk remained in the corner beside the window, shelves lining the wall, filled with a neat stack of books, a chair tucked in under the desk. Even from this distance though, IA could spot a stain of musty red on the soft seat cover, as if someone had tried to wash the color out without success. For IA, it suggested two things. Either Len's murder, wherever it'd occurred in this room, had been violent enough for his blood to splatter onto the seat, or Len had been killed in that very chair.

Before IA could get a better look though, a dull thud resounded behind IA. She turned and found Kaito suddenly collapsed against the door frame, hands hugging his own body as he started to gasp for breath.

"Kaito, what's wrong?" IA asked, her eyes narrowed with worry.

"I—I don't know," Kaito rasped, wheezing as his eyes wavered, his face twisted with a mix of fear and pain. "I don't know. I just feel like there's something in here."

"But there's nothing here," IA stated, glancing behind her again. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the room for what she could see other than the chair. A tidy bed and desk, no sign that a horribly mangled body had once been plopped smack in the middle of the room, or so she'd heard from the report. She couldn't imagine who'd actually cleaned the mess up, but they'd done a good job of it, even though it was a shame the crime scene couldn't have been preserved.

Kaito simply shook his head again furiously. "No, I can feel something," Kaito said shakily, taking in a deep breath.

IA fell silent for one moment before walking behind Kaito, peering into the room from behind him. "What can you feel?" IA asked, deciding not to doubt Kaito's instincts. He might've been a man who'd lost ten years of his life wandering in some forest, but she wasn't going to so easily label him as crazy. Kaito looked like the nervous type, and with people like him, IA had learned to treat them with patience, to let them make their point on their own.

In this case, her patience paid off. Kaito took in another deep breath and straightened up, his arms falling back to his sides. He took a step into the room and said quietly, "I don't really know. I just feel like there's something in here, something that doesn't want to be forgotten just yet."

As if in a trance, Kaito slowly made his way to the middle of the room and held out a trembling hand right in front of him.

IA's eyes widened as a glowing blue light suddenly emerged at Kaito's fingertips, wispy and flowing. A cold mist started to emerge from the light that grew larger, moving on its own to form a shape, running down to the floor and around the whole room, shining brighter and brighter until IA was forced to cover her eyes. A loud crackling noise seemed to be coming from the room, but before IA could ask if Kaito was okay, the blinding light vanished.

IA's eyes snapped open to see what had happened, and immediately she felt her breath catch in her throat, frozen by the cold air suspended before her.

The room was completely covered in ice, but it was no longer the room IA had just seen. Suddenly sculpted from ice were other things that hadn't existed before: frozen puddles, ruffled bed sheets, a mess of stationary items on the floor. More importantly though, right there at Kaito's fingertips was the face of a boy, his eyes wide open, a frozen trickle of something coming out of his gaping mouth, his body of ice chiseled away at certain places to reveal what looked to be sharp bone and fibers of flesh, a frozen liquid, blood, seeping out of what had to be wounds.

IA gulped, shakily entering the room to stare at the frozen body in front of her. There was no doubt about it. The boy's face was that of Len Kagamine's, the very victim of a brutal murder now right before her, as if suspended in time by the ice Kaito had created. Without stirring Kaito, who had seemingly been frozen along with the room, IA took one quick glance around at her surroundings, her heart sinking at the sight of the violence around her and yet at the same time filling with boundless hope, sure of one thing.

This now frozen room of ice was an exact replica of the moment of Len Kagamine's death, a room so full of evidence that IA knew she was bound to find something of use for sure.

* * *

**A/N: Well this is a cheap way to get evidence, but perhaps it works? The chapter was also a lot longer than I intended, but I guess it's a sign for me that I am capable of writing when I put my mind to it. The only problem with that is I have a hard time putting my mind to it…**

**Also, super sorry again about the lack of updates. I have been lazy, and stressed, to the point I haven't even had the time to watch anime, and that says something. Maybe. But I will keep trying so please bear with me. Thank you all for reading and for your patience in me.**


	9. Murder in Ice

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, and for waiting so long to update. Hopefully I'll have another short chapter up soon to make up for it, but feel free to bug me about it if I forget. I tend to work harder when I'm doing things for other people since I'm too lazy to take care of myself XP**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Before IA could get a closer look at the body of ice before her, Kaito suddenly let out a loud shriek as if just realizing what he'd created. By instinct, he grabbed onto IA's arm, clutching it tightly as he cowered behind her, stammering, "What is this?"

IA raised an eyebrow at the sight of the man hiding behind her but otherwise said nothing of it. Instead she stared back at the body and said, "This is most likely a recreation of the crime scene when Len died."

"Len?" Kaito asked, risking a glance at the boy. "That's Len?"

IA nodded. "Probably at the moment he died or when he was on the verge of death."

Kaito seemed to pale at the thought, but he continued to stare long and hard at Len's frozen body.

"Are you remembering anything?" IA asked, her eyes flickering over the room again, not in any particular hurry to get straight to business.

Kaito shook his head, slowly approaching the body with abated breath, IA by his side in case something else happened. To be honest, IA was still trying to process how this room of ice had come about. It had been magical for sure, but IA knew better than to suddenly jump to the belief of magic. As Kaito hesitantly observed the body, IA asked, "So how'd you make this?"

"I don't know," Kaito said, confusion settling on his face. "It was like I felt there was something here and my body just moved on its own. Do you think this is what people call magic?"

IA frowned, fixing the room with another long stare. "I guess," IA conceded, unable to think of any other possible explanation for the phenomenon she'd just witnessed. "Do you know how long this will last?"

When Kaito shook his head, IA just turned to focus back on the room and huffed, "Well, I guess we better hurry up and look around then. Look for anything out of place, a weapon or something that doesn't look like it should be there. I'll go take a look at the body."

Kaito nodded, looking partly glad that he didn't have to poke around the replica of Len's body and moving off to search the room. IA pulled out a pair of medical gloves from her back pocket, put them on, and then reached for a small key chain from the belt hook of her pants. Nothing fancy, just a key ring with a switchblade, a flashlight, and a bunch of other utilitarian stuff. In this case, IA gripped a pair of tweezers and carefully cupped her hands under Len's chin, wondering if it was possible to move his head to look at the bleeding in his mouth better. Surprisingly, she wasn't too surprised when it moved as she wished, the texture of the ice replica like that of actual skin, only freezing to the touch. Carefully, she pried Len's mouth open a little more, the icy blood slowly melting under her fingertips into freezing water. No wounds had been inflicted his mouth, meaning the blood from his mouth was probably from a combination of the lung and stomach wounds all over Len's body. On closer inspection, the wounds were relatively of the same depth, seemingly random, mainly consisting of relatively deep stab wounds interspersed with shallow slashes. A crime of passion probably, suggesting that the perpetrator had been affected by a sudden rush of emotion that motivated them to commit this crime. What that emotion was, IA's best bet was anger, but there were still plenty of other factors to consider. First, the murder weapon. IA still hadn't heard what it was. An knife from the kitchen? An art knife that could've been on Len's desk? Or maybe something else entirely?

As if to answer her question, Kaito suddenly shouted out, "I think I found something!"

IA looked up to see Kaito reaching down beneath Len's desk before pulling out a small utility knife caked in blood. IA immediately stepped forward to take the knife from Kaito's hand. With the tools she had at hand, getting fingerprints off the blade or the handle was unlikely, especially considering the knife had been hidden under the desk for days coated in blood and a little bit of dust. Instead, she weighed the blade carefully in her hand, eyeing Len's body with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Kaito asked, peering up at IA from where he was still kneeling on the ground.

"Just thinking," IA replied, studying the blade and comparing it to the wounds all over the body. "Most likely this is the murder weapon that was used and considering the angle and depth of the wounds, I'd say Len was facing the killer when he was stabbed right here."

She pointed to one particularly deep wound right in the middle of Len's body, somewhere right underneath the space between his lungs with large chunks of frozen blood pooling out of the wound. "After that he probably fell back into the chair where the killer continued to slash at him out of anger or whatever, though why the chair was positioned in the middle of the room is still a mystery. Judging from where the first stab wound is and the following slashes on Len's body, I'd say the killer was someone around my size."

"Oh, so we can narrow the suspects down like this?" Kaito asked.

"Not really, considering our current main suspects are all around my size," IA sighed, recalling the average heighted teenagers she'd just met. "Though speaking of Len's wounds, it does bring up one question."

"And what's that?" Kaito asked, walking over to study Len's body questioningly beside IA, having gotten over his initial shock over the frozen carnage.

IA pointed to Len's right collarbone, where one distinct cut stood out from the rest. It was a thinner cut than the rest, one that looked like it might've begun to close up already, and yet it was fresh, not old enough to form a scab. Kaito peered at it with a curious look but could tell nothing of it, looking to IA for the answer. She had her arms crossed, her expression pensive as she asked, "Why is this cut different from the rest?"

"Different weapon?" Kaito suggested, tossing forward the first thought that came to mind.

"That's what I thought, but it's also possible that this cut was formed before the rest of this," IA said, gesturing to the messy wounds all over Len's body. "This one's a scrape at best, not something that would be from an intentional stab wound, which can only mean one thing."

"And that one thing is?"

IA pursed her lips, scribbling the thought done in her notepad before staring down at Len's body with a troubled look on her face.

"It means someone else had gotten into a fight with Len right before he was murdered. And that someone was also angry enough to pull out a knife."


	10. Resurfacing Negativity

There wasn't much else to find in Len's room to IA's disappointment. They'd spent a good half an hour or so looking for evidence and clues with little success, so IA decided they'd be better off pooling for other resources. The scene of ice evaporated into a chilling mist the moment they left the room, which was a shame since IA didn't know if Kaito could still recreate it or not. Still, it was better that it disappeared. It wouldn't have been good if Rin or her parents came home to find Len's death scene recreated in his room.

Just as they were lingering at the front door though, IA suddenly realized she'd missed an important factor. She grabbed Kaito's hand and quickly dragged him back to the living room, grabbing the remote control for the TV and turning it on to the highest volume.

"What are you doing now?" Kaito asked nervously. His heart was hammering for some reason after IA had suddenly grabbed him. Not because he was embarrassed or shy about having his hand grabbed by a pretty girl like IA. He knew enough about crushes and love to know this wasn't that. It was more of an anxiety that had suddenly taken over him, as if his body remembered a fear that his mind had forgotten.

IA didn't seem to notice Kaito's apprehension, her mind consumed with a new possibility forming in her head. She said, "I'll explain to you later, but for now, try talking to yourself as loud as you can."

"Eh? But isn't that weird?" Kaito asked, frowning at the idea of talking to himself out loud of all things.

"It's fine. Just try to listen for anything that doesn't sound right, but otherwise keep making lots of noise," IA said, giving Kaito a somewhat reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'll be right back."

IA quickly disappeared back up the stairs. With nothing else to do, Kaito could only glumly stare at the TV before sighing and attempting to talk to himself. Not knowing what to say, Kaito started with, "I really don't know what to say to myself."

After a beat and an outbreak of laughter from the reality show in the TV, Kaito said loudly, "It would be really nice to get my memories back."

Another pause.

"Like it would be nice to know who I was. But I also want to know how I spent the last ten years of my life in the Lost Woods and why I haven't grown at all. And I kinda hope the note I found doesn't actually involve Meiko because she seems like a really nice person. Though I hope no one was actually to blame for me ending up in the woods since they all seem like they used to be my good friends."

Kaito was distracted for a moment by the TV, laughing a little as the guests of the show began to teasingly argue amongst themselves. The program seemed to be mimicking a crime drama, trying to find out which of the guests were the culprit of the incident that occurred at the start of the program. The guests were all laughing as they tried to gather clues through games and argued over who looked the most guilty. Kaito wondered if maybe he used to watch these shows and laugh over them like he was now. As the show switched to a commercial break, Kaito suddenly remembered the task IA had given him. He looked anxiously up at the ceiling, trying to figure out what IA must be doing up there and feeling a bit guilty for letting himself get carried away.

"Oh right, I have to talk too," Kaito muttered to himself, nervously tugging at the collar of his shirt. He glanced again at the TV, waiting for the show to come back on. There was a faint thumping noise coming from somewhere, something that could easily have been the pounding in his ears. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but he didn't let it bother him. IA had asked him to listen for anything weird, and he wasn't too disturbed by the throbbing in his ears. As the show returned along with a faint high pitched whir, or maybe it was a shrill squeak, Kaito suddenly said, "I wish a crime investigation could be like this. With everyone having fun and working together to find the culprit without any real consequences. I have a feeling I don't really like seeing people fighting each other."

The show moved on to reveal the culprit, who'd managed to avoid most of the suspicion altogether throughout the show. Kaito was slightly disappointed he couldn't have deduced the culprit on his own, but in the end it was still all fun and games, nothing to be angered or emotional about.

"It would really be nice if Len's murder could be solved this peacefully," Kaito voiced aloud. "But I guess that's unlikely. This does involve murder after all."

"Exactly," IA said, suddenly appearing at the base of the stairs. "Unlike the shows you see on TV, murder is a serious offense in society. It's the act of taking another's life oftentimes for reasons we couldn't possibly understand. Especially in a small, secluded village like this, finding the culprit will tear apart relationships, make friends turn on each other, and reveal the darkest parts of humanity. You'd be naïve to think this could end peacefully."

"Oh, uh, IA, when'd you get down here?" Kaito asked, jumpy and nervous that she'd overheard him talking to himself like an idiot.

_That's right, that's all he was. An idiot._

Kaito had to pause for a moment, unsure where that thought had popped out from, but by then IA had replied, "Just now, but don't worry about me overhearing you. I did tell you to talk to yourself after all, and besides, if you'd seen me, you'd think I'd been doing something stupider."

"What were you doing upstairs?" Kaito asked, suddenly remembering why he'd been stupidly talking to himself.

"Well, let me ask you first. Did you hear anything weird?"

Kaito froze, realizing he'd gotten so lost with his own thoughts and the TV show that he hadn't really been paying attention. He mumbled, "Not really. I got distracted."

"Getting distracted is good, but you sure you didn't hear anything strange?" IA pressed on.

Kaito thought harder before saying, "Well, at some point there was this faint throbbing noise, and maybe a shrill whine or something, but I thought I was imagining it or maybe it was from the TV, so I wasn't paying too much attention to it. Should I have?"

IA sighed and scratched her head. "No, you reacted like I expected. Supposing this were the night Len died, with more people and even more noise, it'd be even less likely that anyone would've heard screaming or stomping or stuff being thrown about, or at least registered it."

Kaito stared long and hard at IA. "Is that what you were doing upstairs?"

IA shrugged. "I'm actually surprised this house is quite soundproof. I guess the buildings in this village are more stable than I assumed. Or maybe I wasn't screaming hard enough?"

Kaito tugged at the scarf wrapped around his neck, suddenly feeling a little nauseous. He mumbled, "Isn't that kinda sad though?"

"What is?"

"I mean, if even I couldn't hear you screaming upstairs when I was here by myself, those kids wouldn't have heard anything either right? But that would mean at some point during their party, while everyone was having fun downstairs, they couldn't even hear their own friend being brutally murdered right above their heads."

IA took a long look at Kaito's somber face, wondering what to say to cheer the teen (or was it man?) up. It wasn't often she was faced with the humane response towards murder investigations. After that accident, she had learned to treat cases with apathy over the years of studying to become a detective. She had thought there'd be no use to cry over the dead. An action like that only clouded one's judgment about who was guilty and who wasn't, but here was someone, sympathizing with the victims, both dead and alive. How did it feel to know someone you cared about had died even though you could've saved them? IA knew that feeling all too well, but…

"I told you this wouldn't be easy, but we still have to find the killer. As the investigators of this case, we owe Len at least this much," IA said, resting a hand on Kaito's shoulder. That's right, that's all she had to do, all she could do. Getting overly invested in human relations could only lead to pain and error. She just had to go about this case just as she'd practiced for years.

Ask questions, get answers, keep the persons involved at a good distance away.

_And Kaito? What about him? This oblivious amnesiac you've picked up on a whim? Are you going to keep him from getting too involved in Len's case? In his own case? Can you even keep yourself from becoming friends with him?_

IA paused at the thought her unhelpful conscience supplied. She'd almost forgotten. Kaito, with his determination to regain his memories, to find himself through his forgotten friend's case. IA had let him come along because he was the only person who was most definitely innocent, but did she have the right to keep him from getting too attached?

She didn't, not in the slightest bit, so she justified it too herself that Kaito was only along because he could be helpful. Whether he got hurt or not in the process was none of her business.

As if satisfied for the time being, the conflicted feeling in her heart settled down. IA let out a small sigh of relief. She turned to Kaito and said, "Well, now that we're all done here, let's move on then. There's one more place I want to go before we settle down for the night."

* * *

**A/N: Well I said I'd update soon so here it is. Though I don't think it contributes much to the plot other than prove these village houses are stupidly sound proof for the sake of the plot... Sorry. Next chapter should have more substance so until next time! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Broken Bonds

**A/N: Holy crap… I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize it's almost been a year since I last updated… Stupid me. Anyways, Happy Belated Birthday to Awesome D.T. and thanks for pushing me to update (I'm sorry I really didn't think it'd been that long… T_T) **

**I realize the pace of the story has been pretty slow so far so please let me know if you want to story to pick up the pace. IA's mostly just been doing some questioning so far but I promise there will be plenty of big revelations coming up (I hope XP)**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"So where are we going now?" Kaito asked as IA shut the door behind them.

"Rin mentioned that the teacher and the doctor had pictures of the crime scene, so I thought I'd go and see if they have anything else they can say about the murder. After that…" IA trailed off as she glanced up at the sky, the sun slowly sinking into the horizon. She was suddenly struck by how tired her legs were, having forgotten how long she'd had to walk to Shimori in the fresh excitement of starting a new case. "I think I'll head off to see the village chief, find out where I'm supposed to be staying and everything. He'll probably be able to tell you a bit about yourself too."

Kaito didn't respond. IA glanced over at him to find him staring up above, seemingly enraptured by the darkening skies, the heavy clouds illuminated in a brilliant fiery orange against the faded dark blue background. It was a sight IA had seen more than her fair share of, but seeing the amazement in Kaito's eyes at the sight of an average sunset somehow made the sky above them just a little bit more magical.

IA had to smile to herself a bit as she let Kaito enjoy the moment. There was something special about seeing someone look at something you took for granted as if it were the most amazing thing in the world. It had a certain childlike innocence that almost made her nostalgic for the days when she could wake up everyday looking forward to everything her day had in store for her. Almost nostalgic, because being nostalgic only led to remembering bad memories that IA wasn't about to deal with just yet.

For now she would rather settle with interrogating and talking to people.

It didn't take long for her and Kaito to arrive at the doctor's house, and Dr. Kamui was quick to invite Kiyoteru over when IA asked to see him. He was quick to return from his walk to Kiyoteru's house, reporting that the young teacher would join them after he finished his work. IA didn't mind, having wanted to chat with the doctor first anyways. From what IA could tell, Dr. Kamui was also a city-person, serious with his work and sincere with his friends, and very much frustrated about not knowing the truth.

"How long have you been working here?" IA asked, sitting down at the table in the living room of the doctor's house, admiring how neat and tidy the small home was kept.

"Almost two years, ever since I got out of medical school," Dr. Kamui replied, setting down two glasses of water for IA and Kaito. "Kiyoteru invited me here. Said he was going back home to be a teacher and asked if I'd be interested in becoming the village doctor."

"I'm guessing you don't like the city that much?"

"The city's nice and all, but I do like a nice breath of fresh air once in a while," Dr. Kamui replied with a small smile, sitting down with the two while tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. He was wearing more casual clothes than when IA first met him, trading his white lab coat for a black turtleneck, his lengthy purple hair let down from his ponytail, giving the doctor a softer yet serious look. His smile quickly vanished as he commented, "Though never in my life would I have imagined having to deal with a murder."

"No one expects it," IA said. "It sounds like you dealt with it pretty well though."

"I tried my best," Dr. Kamui replied with a small smile. "I haven't been here long of course so I guess it didn't impact me as much as it did the others. I think Kiyoteru took it pretty hard since he came back here because he kept saying how he sometimes regrets leaving the village ten years ago."

"Ten years ago? When Kaito disappeared?" IA asked, quick to notice the detailed timestamp of Kiyoteru's leave from the village.

Dr. Kamui frowned and shrugged. "Maybe? Luka did mention something about Kiyoteru running away from something but like I said, I wouldn't know."

IA noted the slightly bitter tone in the doctor's voice. She decided it best to change the topic and asked, "I was talking with Rin and she mentioned that you should have pictures of the crime scene?"

"Ah yeah, that," Dr. Kamui sighed, turning around and fumbling through a drawer before producing a thick folder. "They're not professional quality of course but we did what we could in case someone needed to see them. I hope you've got a strong stomach."

IA recalled the scene Kaito had recreated and silently agreed. If the murder scene had looked gruesome in ice, it'd only be worse in reality. She opened the folder and glanced briefly through the pictures, mostly just to check if what she'd investigated in Len's room matched the pictures taken. Remembering how Kaito had shrieked and hidden behind her back in Len's room, she made sure to keep the pictures out of Kaito's sight as the doctor distracted Kaito by asking how he was feeling.

As Dr. Kamui had said, the pictures weren't of great quality, but then again, she doubted anyone without training would be able to calmly take a picture of Len's mutilated body. It was just as she remembered, only this time with real flesh and blood reflected in the pictures. They betrayed nothing out of the ordinary so IA chose to quickly close the folder again, almost glad she had Kaito's magical abilities rather than the actual corpse to deal with. She might've been more comfortable with the dead than most people, but even she couldn't quite stomach the sight of Len's murder scene.

Handing the folder back to Dr. Kamui, IA's eyes drifted back to Kaito, who had begun to walk around the room, again with a confused look. She asked, "Are you remembering something again?"

"No, it's just, this room looks familiar, but it feels unfamiliar too. Like this place was important, but it doesn't feel right," Kaito said, his hand running along the edge of his chair as if looking for something familiar in the woodwork.

"That's probably because Gakupo's been living here for a while, so it's different from how you remember."

IA looked up to see Kiyoteru walking in, hanging up his coat on the coat rack and waving at them. She asked, "Do none of the houses here have locks?"

"Nah, we all know each other well so we just come and go as we please," Kiyoteru smiled. His expression quickly sobered up as he continued, "Though with Len's death there's been a lot more tension around here for sure."

IA processed the thought quickly before deciding there was little she could do with that information now. After all, the Kagamine house had been filled with people at the time of Len's death. Anyone entering the house would've been seen for sure. She continued, "Well going back to what you said. What's the importance of this house?"

Kiyoteru took a moment to sit down at the table. Scratching his head, he replied, "Well, this used to be where Kaito lived with his parents."

"I used to live here?" Kaito repeated, looking round more intently. Brow still furrowed, he suddenly asked, "So then where are my parents?"

Kiyoteru bit his bottom lip, a shadow crossing his face as he hesitated. Finally, he replied in a soft voice, "I'm sorry Kaito, but they passed away a few years ago."

The hopeful look in Kaito's eyes died immediately. He stared down at his tightly crossed hands for a while before shakily saying, "I—I see. I mean, I don't remember them so I guess I don't feel that sad but… but…"

Kaito's bottom lip began to tremble. Immediately, Dr. Kamui got up and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, inviting Kaito to get up and follow him into the patient's room, probably to give him some privacy and offer some support. IA watched them go quietly, her mind suddenly flashing back to when she was in Kaito's position, only without a doctor or really anyone at all.

Kiyoteru's sigh brought IA back to the present. She took note of his solemn look and asked, "There's more to that, isn't there?"

Kiyoteru shot IA a glare that was probably justified, considering how easily IA had busted his previous lie to Kaito. He changed the subject and asked, "Did you want something?"

"Mind if I ask about what Len was like while he was alive?" IA asked, choosing to follow Kiyoteru's lead and not press the issue any further for now.

Kiyoteru stopped in the middle of taking off his glasses and frowned. "Haven't you asked his friends yet? They'd know more about him than I would."

"Well I want to know what your opinion of Len was like," IA replied.

Kiyoteru eyed the detective carefully before tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, wiping his glasses lenses with the bottom of his shirt. IA noted the weary look in the young teacher's eyes as he let out a long sigh and finally put his glasses back on. Hesitantly, Kiyoteru started, "Len… was a lot different as a kid."

"What do you mean?" IA inquired.

"He wasn't exactly the most sociable kid when he was younger. He had this kind of… coldness to him," Kiyoteru explained hesitantly. "I know he was pretty popular with his friends before he died, but I can't help but feel like there's something wrong about him going from the cold, quiet kid he was to his outgoing popular teenage self."

"Could he just have grown out of his shyness?"

Kiyoteru shrugged. "Maybe, but I doubt it. From what I heard, Len's personality suddenly changed when he was a lot younger, probably around after I left the village, which makes me think Kaito's disappearance was probably the trigger. Which just doesn't make sense to me since the two of them were surprisingly good friends."

IA pondered the thought and had to agree. If what Kiyoteru was saying were true, she couldn't quite imagine how the disappearance of his best friend could turn Len from a quiet kid to the outgoing teenager that she was being led to believe he'd been. Something was off about that process, a missing puzzle piece to the mystery that Len the victim himself seemed to be. What that was, IA had yet to discover, but for now, there were more mysteries surrounding her own suspects than the murder victim himself.

Continuing the conversation, IA asked, "How did Len and Kaito become good friends?"

"Oh, well, Len had a hard time socializing with his peers at the time, and Kaito visited one of my classes and they just… bonded," Kiyoteru replied, his eyes glancing away quickly as he finished his sentence.

IA cast Kiyoteru an unimpressed stare, which he returned with a slight quirk of his mouth as he gave a disheartened sigh. "Yes, I know, that's probably not the answer you were looking for, but I can't describe it too well myself. Kaito was never good with people but I guess he saw something in Len that made him open up, and that's what Len did in return. Friends aren't made through a clear cut process after all."

"True," IA conceded, though it'd been a long time since she'd considered anyone a close friend. Having noticed the smile creeping up on Kiyoteru's face as he began to talk about Kaito, IA said, "I'm guessing you were close to Kaito before he disappeared?"

Kiyoteru dipped his head down a little as he smiled at the statement. "We were all close to Kaito before he disappeared. We as in Meiko, Luka, and I. We're around the same age so we naturally grew up together as friends. When he disappeared, I…"

It was brief, but IA caught the frown that quickly fazed over Kiyoteru's face before he looked up again with a smile and continued with his words. "I'm just glad Kaito's back. None of us ever thought we'd see him again."

"Hmm," IA hummed in agreement. Seeing that the young teacher was back in a good mood, IA took a chance and said, "So what actually happened to Kaito's parents?"

Kiyoteru's eyes narrowed immediately, any sign of friendliness towards the detective again gone in an instant. He coldly replied, "That's not important to your investigation, is it? Why do you even want to know?"

IA remained unfazed. "I just think it's important to know the truth, and that includes learning about people and their relationships with those involved in the case."

"Well, the truth is that they've passed away," Kiyoteru said irritably, his eyes flitting away from IA briefly.

"But that's not the entire truth, is it?" IA pursued.

"Why does it matter?"

"Any small detail matters," IA rebutted, "and besides, I think Kaito deserves to know how his parents died so he can honor them properly."

"Oh, then do you want to be the one to tell him?" Kiyoteru suddenly asked, his voice dull and indignant.

IA felt a small chill run down her spine, strangely unnerved by the cold glint in Kiyoteru's eyes daring her to find the truth she had been hired to find. Not one to back away from the truth, she took in a deep breath and asked, "Tell him what?"

Kiyoteru's glare only hardened as he said with obvious spite, "That his parents committed suicide after he disappeared?"


	12. Turning in for the Night

"Yes, it was really terrible, what happened back then. Kaito was their only child after all, so I can only imagine the shock they went through when he disappeared," the village chief sighed at IA's inquiry about Kaito's parents. They'd arrived at the town hall quite a while ago after the visit to the doctor. The village chief was an friendly man in his forties who went by the name Big Al, perhaps coming from the chief's tall stature that towered over even Kaito when they stood side by side. He had been quite emotional upon seeing Kaito when they walked in, but he didn't look as surprised as IA had expected him to be, which Big Al simply explained as news traveling fast in such a small village. He'd quickly taken them to their lodgings and Kaito was ushered in to take a bath and rest his feet once they'd settled down. Alone with the village chief, IA had then taken the chance to ask him about what Kiyoteru had said, not quite ready to relay the news to Kaito, which had led them to the present.

"Still," IA persisted, "would that have been enough to push his parents to suicide?"

Big Al gave IA a look that she couldn't quite fathom, something that was a cross between sympathy and pity. He sighed sadly and said, "I suppose you're too young to know what it feels like to lose a child. No one ever expects to lose a child, and for the Shion family, well, I suppose more than shock, it was probably a sense of guilt that drove them to their choice."

"Guilt?"

"Kaito… he had some issues growing up. He went through a rough time when he was a child which made him nervous and withdrawn when he grew up, so his parents had grown very protective of him. They didn't want their son to get hurt in any way, but I suppose that didn't always sit well with Kaito. I remember them having an argument with Kaito before Kaito disappeared into the woods, so they probably blamed themselves for not keeping an eye on him and reconciling with him before he disappeared," Big Al softly admitted, glancing in the direction of the bathroom as if to make sure Kaito was out of earshot.

IA pondered the thought somberly. She couldn't imagine how Kaito's parents must have felt when their son disappeared, but no one else probably could either. It was too late to wonder why they'd chosen to commit suicide; it was a thing of the past that couldn't be changed. For now, as much as IA believed in telling people the truth, she'd seen how Kaito had reacted when told that Len and his parents had died, even without remembering them. He'd recovered from the news of Len's death well enough, but IA wasn't sure if the same would hold true if Kaito were to be told that his parents might have committed suicide because of his disappearance. It was one thing to be told that someone you treasured was dead; it was another to learn that it might've been your fault.

Suddenly, IA felt like she could understand how people felt when you had to break bad news to someone. She might not have known Kaito for very long, and it wasn't like she was attached to Kaito emotionally or anything, but even IA didn't like the thought of seeing Kaito in despair. After all, who wouldn't be? To be memoryless and suddenly learn that the only friend you barely remember was dead and that you might've caused your parents' deaths too?

IA knew she'd regret this someday, but for now, until she knew Kaito could handle the news, she'd keep quiet about the truth behind his parents' deaths like Kiyoteru had asked.

In an effort to shift the topic, she thought back on Big Al's words and questioned, "I'm sorry about what happened, but there's something I don't understand. If Kaito disappeared into the woods, how would you have known that's where he'd gone? He could've just run away for all you knew."

"Kaito seemed to have left a note for his parents. They were quite distressed of course, but none of us knew what to do," the village chief replied, moving towards the cabinet in the living room as he said so. "Hold on, I might have the note saved somewhere… Ah, yes, right here."

Big Al gently pulled out a faded note from the cabinet drawer and turned to show it to IA. She took the note that said "I'm going out to the woods. I'll be right back. -Kaito."

"Doesn't everyone believe that the woods are cursed though? So it doesn't mean he'd disappeared into the woods," IA observed, handing the delicate note back to Big Al, who tucked it back into the drawer with a sad look in his eyes.

"True, but when Kaito didn't come back after a day or two, we could only assume the worst," Big Al replied.

"And no one knows why he went out?"

Big Al shook his head. "We thought maybe his friends would know, but they all said they didn't know anything."

"And how did they all react?"

"Hmm, Meiko was probably hit the hardest," Big Al recalled thoughtfully. "She and Kaito were practically like siblings, so I remember she was really upset about his disappearance. Although I do remember Luka going through a very hard time as well. She was much quieter back then, but her parents told me how she didn't leave her room for a week after Kaito disappeared, not even to say goodbye to Kiyoteru when he left for the city."

"I see," IA simply said, thinking back to the elegant pink haired young woman from earlier. IA couldn't say that was a particularly strange reaction to having your good friend seemingly vanish forever, but Luka had given IA the impression that she was normally the emotionally composed type. Her emotional reaction to Kaito's return was curious enough, especially considering how stiff she'd acted once she'd gotten her bearings back. Had Luka been involved in why Kaito had ended up in the forest? It would justify why Luka had initially seemed so relieved to have Kaito back, but then again, why relief? If she'd wanted Kaito gone IA would've expected shock, annoyance, maybe worry that Kaito would out her as the culprit. Luka was certainly suspicious, but to pin her as the main culprit would be missing the whole picture.

There was also the mystery of Kaito's note. It'd been signed by Meiko but IA doubted the brunette would leave her name around like that if she were at fault. If Meiko and Kaito had been as close as the village chief claimed they were, IA doubted Meiko would've even needed a note to lure Kaito into the forest. There was no reason to write a note in a first place. Certainly all the villagers were close enough to simply relay messages directly to each other?

The handwriting itself was a mystery in and of itself. Something about it felt off, and IA couldn't think of why. It was neat enough from what she could tell from the faded ink. The paper was so old it was hard to make out the words, clearly having aged despite its owner's own youthfulness, so the handwriting was hard to make out clearly, but there was something about it that made IA question if it was even written by a teenager.

There wasn't any point in thinking about it for now though. All she had was empty theories and no evidence, and rather than grasp at straws, she'd rather find all the puzzle pieces and figure out which ones fit into this particular puzzle.

"By the way, how did Kiyoteru react to Kaito's disappearance?" IA spoke up.

"Kiyoteru?" Big Al repeated, his brow furrowing as he thought. "Well, he delayed leaving for the the city for a few days to wait around, but I have to say he was a lot more composed than Meiko or Luka. Kiyoteru has always been mature, even as a kid, so I guess he had a better time controlling his emotions than the girls, but there was one incident that worried us about Kiyoteru though."

"And that was?"

Big Al looked sad as he spoke. "A few days after Kaito had disappeared, Kiyoteru and Meiko caught Len trying to enter the Lost Woods. Thankfully they brought him back safely and I think Kiyoteru managed to talk some sense into Len to make sure he didn't try something like that again. Len was really devastated about Kaito's disappearance; they were really good friends after all, but I think he slowly got better after the incident."

"And how does that have to do with you worrying about Kiyoteru?" IA asked.

"Nothing immediately obvious. But Meiko came up to me later to tell me how she was worried Kiyoteru might be suffering more than he showed. She told me how after they'd stopped Len, Kiyoteru had stood at the outskirts of the Lost Woods and just stared at it for a long time. When Meiko had asked him what was wrong, Kiyoteru apparently said he'd been wondering if he ought to go into Lost Woods. Of course, given that the Lost Woods make people disappear and that Kaito's parents had only just been found dead the day before… we were worried Kiyoteru also might be moved to do something drastic."

"You were worried he might kill himself," IA summarized more bluntly.

"Yes. He was about to go off to college on his own after all. We were worried he might do something to hurt himself once he was away from home, but I'm glad going to the city seems to have done Kiyoteru some good," Big Al replied.

IA pondered the thought. She had noted how close Kiyoteru must have been to Kaito, but she hadn't expected such a reaction from him. From Len, who'd just been a small child at the time, IA wasn't as surprised. To Len, he'd probably thought going into the Lost Woods would reunite him with his friend. Of course, similarly Kiyoteru could've just been implying he'd wanted to search for Kaito, but considering how important the myth of the Lost Woods seemed to be to the villagers, it was hard not to read his words as an intention to disappear. As for what might've motivated that, IA knew she'd have to pry a bit more about the incident if she wanted to get behind the truth of Kaito's disappearance.

Before she could ask anything more though, Kaito stepped out of the bathroom, his hair still dripping wet as he looked around, looking like he'd temporarily forgotten where he was. IA shared a look with Big Al, offering him a small smile to reassure the man that their conversation would stay secret for now. Big Al smiled back before walking towards Kaito, taking the towel out of his hands and helping Kaito dry his hair. Seeing Kaito being taken care of like that made him seem even more like a young child that needed taking care of. IA smiled a little more at the thought. Kaito was mature in his own way, but he still exuded a certain childlike innocence that warmed a soft spot in IA's heart.

Kaito caught IA staring and shot her a nervous smile back. Thanking the village chief for his help, he headed over to IA and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing you have to worry about, but we should get an early start tomorrow to continue our investigation," IA said before turning to Big Al. "Thank you again for letting us stay over until this is all over."

"Please, it's the least I can do. We're all quite shaken up from Len's death, so the sooner you find the truth the better," Big Al replied. "I'm sure you both are in need of a good night's sleep, so I'll see you two in the morning."

The village chief quickly disappeared further into the house. After checking that Kaito was good for the night, IA bid Kaito goodnight and entered her room. Without even bothering to find a change of clothes in the stacks of moving boxes that had been shipped to the village ahead of time, IA simply flopped down on her bed.

It'd been a long day. Not as productive as she'd have liked it to be, but definitely one with plenty of surprises. IA stared up at the dark ceiling for a long time before closing her eyes. When the morning came, she'd be ready to start up her investigation once more.

For now though, it was time to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: And with that I'm off to bed. Here's a friendly reminder from this sleep deprived procrastinator to get a good night's sleep!**

**Thanks for reading.**


End file.
